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Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 

in  2011  with  funding  from 

Princeton  Theological  Seminary  Library 


http://www.archive.org/details/christianordinanOOwill 


AMERICAN   REVIEWS   AND   NOTICES 

OF 

NEW  WORKS  BY  THE  REV.  SAMUEL  WILLS,  D.D. 

Lately  published  in  New  York,  and  now  issued  in  England  by 
JOHN     SNOW,    35,    PATERNOSTER    ROW. 


SCRIPTURE  EXPOSITIONS,  OR  DAILY  MEDITATIONS,  &c. 

4  large  8vo.  vols.,  at  4s.  6d.  per  vol.;  or  18s.  the  set. 

THE    SEVEN    CHURCHES    OF    ASIA,    &c. 

1  large  8vo.  vol.,  with  eight  Engravings,  5s. 

CHRISTIAN  ORDINANCES,  &  ECCLESIASTICAL  OBSERVANCES. 

1  vol.  post  8vo.,  3s.  6d. 


"  '  Scripture  Expositions,  or  Daily  Meditations'  (4  vols.),  and  '  Seven  Churches 
op  Asia'  (1  vol.),  are  titles  of  works  by  the  Rev.  Dr.  Wills,  of  New  York.  These  five 
volumes  contain  something  short  of  400  pages  each,  very  large  octavo.  We  would  com- 
mend them  as  being  written  in  a  devout  spirit,  with  doctrinal  correctness,  and  in  a  style 
and  method  adapted  to  the  ends  of  their  composition  and  publication.  They  will  be 
highly  valued  in  the  closet  and  study,  and  answer,  to  some  extent,  as  aids  in  the  inter- 
pretation of  Scripture,  and  making  preparation  for  the  pulpit." — Courier,  Burlington,  Ver- 
mont. 

"  They  will  be  found  a  valuable  companion  at  the  family  altar,  and  in  the  retirement 
of  the  closet." — Motlier^s  Journal,  Philadelphia. 

"  The  '  Expositions  '  or  '  Meditations  '  present  diversity  with  harmony,  and  exhibit 
a  most  delightful  combination  of  doctrinal,  practical,  and  experimental  godliness.  The 
author  evidently  possesses  mental  and  moral  capacities  of  no  ordinary  dimensions,  and 
evinces  a  profound  acquaintance  with  the  oracles  of  God." — Christian  Chronicle,  Phila- 
delphia. 

"  Convenient,  valuable,  and  useful The  work,  we  trust,  will  be  universally  read." 

■ — New  York  Sun. 

"  The  '  Expositions,'  so  far  as  we  can  judge,  are  excellent  in  sentiment  and  style, 
and  the  purpose  which  they  are  designed  and  adapted  to  serve  makes  the  work  worthy 
of  liberal  patronage  and  of  careful  study.  It  will  prove  a  great  help  to  religious  devo- 
tion."— New  York  Chronicle. 

"  '  Christian  Ordinances  and  Ecclesiastical  Observances  '  is  the  title  of  a 
recent  work  by  the  Rev.  Dr.  Wills,  which  we  take  great  pleasure  in  commending  to  the 
attention  of  our  ministry.  The  work  is  an  able  eapose.  and  refutation  of  the  close  commu- 
nion theory,  of  which  our  mi  listers  and  Church  members  will  do  well  to  possess  them- 
selves."— Northern  Star,  Pocuster. 

"  'Scripture  Expositions,'  &c. — It  is  just  what  a  book  of  this  sort  should  be:  rich 
in  instructive  reading,  without  being  sectarian;  filled  with  heart-stirring  thoughts  on  the 
subject  of  practical  Christianity,  and  free  from  the  spirit  of  controversy,  which  unhappily 
spoils  the  flavour  of  many  a  preparation  of  Christian  ointment.  We  announced  this  work 
when  itt  first  volume  made  its  appearance.  The  more  we  see  of  it  the  better  we  like  it, 
and  would  rejoice  to  find  it  holding  the  honoured  place  of  a  domestic  companion  in  every 
family  not  already  supplied  with  a  similar  aid  to  devotion.  The  entire  work  is  now  in 
the  market,  in  legible  and  beautiful  type.  The  Bible  and  these  four  volumes,  without 
anything,  else,  constitute  quite  a  desirable  Christian  library." — Christian  Intelligencer, 
New  York. 


"  '  Seven  Churches  of  Asia,'  &c. — This  we  regard  as  a  really  valuable  contribution 
to  our  theological  literature.  The  plan  of  the  work  is  excellent,  and  is  so  carried  out  as 
to  render  the  work  not  only  instructive  to  the  minister  of  the  gospel  or  Sabbath-school 
student  of  the  Bible,  but  also  eminently  interesting  and  attractive  to  the  general  reader. 
....  The  work  is  sound,  evangelical,  and  instructive,  and  we  cordially  wish  it  extensive 
circulation." — Rev.  J.  Dowling,  D.D.,  New  York  Baptist  Memorial. 

"  '  Scripture  Expositions,'  &c. — This  work  is  a  series  of  practical  reflections  on 
religious  life  and  doctrines,  suggested  by  appropriate  passages  of  Scripture,  and  adapted 
to  assist  the  Christian  in  the  maintenance  of  devotional  feeling,  and  to  promote  growth  in 
grace.  These  reflections  are  marked  by  sound  and  orthodox  views,  correct  interpretations, 
and  pious  feeling.  The  style  of  the  work  is  spirited,  suggestive,  and  clear." — Neiv  York 
Recorder. 

Testimonial.  Rev.  D.  Dunbar,  New-  York. — "  I  have  no  hesitation  in  expressing 
my  sincere  belief,  that  the  'Scripture  Expositions  and  Daily  Meditations,'  &c, will 
become,  wherever  known,  a  favourite  companion  with  all  persons  in  the  reading  commu- 
nity who  are  called  by  the  grace  of  God,  sensible  of  the  plague  of  their  own  hearts,  and 
hungering  and  thirsting  after  righteousness.  The  respected  author  has,  in  my  opinion, 
conferred  a  specml  favour  upon  the  Church  of  God  and  upon  the  community  at  large,  by 
producing  this  valuable  book  at  the  present  time.  ...  I  may  be  allowed  to  add,  that 
every  minister  of  Christ,  both  in  this  city  and  Philadelphia,  who  has  seen  and  examined 
this  book,  most  cordially  approves  of  its  matter,  its  spirit,  and  its  arrangement .  May  the 
smiles  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  rest  upon  it  and  its  laborious  and  judicious  author,  &c." 

Testimonial.     Rev.  Dr.  Cose,  Brooklyn,  New  York. — "  My  esteemed  friend  is  the 

known  author  of  several  excellent  works '  Scripture  Expositions,'  &c. — I  am 

free  to  say  that  I  regard  the  publication  as  happy  and  of  good  promise.  Its  contents 
are  in  form  familiar  and  devotional,  catholic  and  useful,  evangelical  and  sound,  and  well 
adapted  to  do  good  to  pious  and   sober  persons,  assisting  their  meditations  and   their 

prayers,  as  the  worshippers  of  God  our  Saviour '  Seven  Churches  op  Asia.' — 

No  person  will  grudge  the  time  given  to  its  perusal.  The  historical  sketches  are  com- 
plete, and  highly  interesting.  The  expositions  of  the  Epistles  to  these  seven  ChurcJies  are 
theological^  sound  and  practical;  experimental  and  devotional,  as  well  as  learned.  The 
work  is  eminently  adapted  to  instruct  and  benefit  every  Christian  reader ;  any  plain  and 
honest  christian,  as  well  as  the  erudite  and  the  capacious,  may  read  it  with  pleasure  and 

advantage '  Christian  Ordinances  and    Ecclesiastical  Observances.' — 

Though  possibly  I  might  differ  with  my  friend  in  some  things,  I  love  the  work  for 
its  liberal  sentiment.  The  author  thinks  for  himself ;  though,  while  his  preferences  are 
with  the  Baptist  denomination,  he  possesses  a  mind  separate  from  sectarian  bigotry,  &c." 

" '  Seven  Churches  of  Asia,'  &c. — Dr.  Wills  is  favourably  known  to  the  public  as 

the  author  of  a  series  of  scriptural  expositions  adapted  to  the  days  of  the  year,  &c 

The  expositions  of  the  prophetic  announcement  to  the  Churches  of  Asia  are  founded  on 
a  geographical  and  historical  examination  of  the  localities  alluded  to,  and  followed  by  a 
practical  commentary  upon  the  text,  and  a  warm-hearted  and  evangelical  application  of 
the  truths  involved  to  the  heart  and  conscience  of  the  modern  believer.  The  style  of  the 
work  is  clear  and  pleasing,  and  it  clearly  forms  a  valuable  addition  to  the  literature  of 
practical  religion." — J.  B.  Anderson,  LL.D.,  President  of  Rochester  University;  New 
York  Recorder. 

"  The  information  possible  to  be  obtained,  respecting  the  ancient  and  modern  history 
of  these  celebrated  cities,  sites  of  the  seven  Churches,  is  here  presented  in  a  compact  form. 
It  is,  therefore,  valuable  and  convenient  for  use.  There  are  as  many  parts  to  the  book 
as  cities,  and  each  is  preceded  by  Christ's  epistle  to  the  corresponding  Church.  The 
historical,  geographical,  and  topographical  information,  is  followed  by  an  exegctical  treatise 
on  the  Epistle,  which  is  a  happy  development  of  the  Saviour's  message,  in  thought,  spirit, 
and  pungency.     We  think  it  quite  a  valuable  book." — Journal  and  Messenger,  Cincinnati. 

"No  divine  of  his  ago  has  distinguished  himself  more  as  an  author  by  his  theological 
writings,  and  the  independency  of  thought  and  the  force  and  beauty  of  expression  that 
grace  the  pages  of  his  volumes,  and  mark  the  impress  of  his  mind." — Rev.  Dr.  Dods, 
Washington  Observer. 


CHRISTIAN   ORDINANCES 

AND 

ECCLESIASTICAL  OBSERVANCES 

RECONSIDERED; 

IN    WHICH,    AMONG    OTHER    THINGS, 

THE  RESTRICTED  COMMUNION  OF  BAPTISTS  IS  DEMONSTRATED 
TO  BE  ANTI-SCRIPTURAL. 


REV.   SAMUEI 


BY    THE     ; 

i-^ILLS,   D.D., 


Prove  all  things,  hold  fast  that  which  is  good."— 1  Thess.  v.  21 


NEW  YORK:    PUBLISHED  BY  M.  W.  DODD,  BROADWAY 

AND   BY 

JOHN    SNOW,   35,   PATERNOSTER    ROW,   LONDON. 

1854. 


> 


c 


A 


PEEFACE. 


A  word  or  two  shall  suffice  to  introduce  the  following 
pages  to  the  notice  of  the  reading  Christian  public.  The 
subjects  treated  of  are  of  vast  importance  to  the  prosperity 
of  the  church  of  Christ :  how  far  they  have  been  expound- 
ed to  illustrate  that  importance  is  another  thing.  The 
writer  fears  his  task  is  very  imperfectly  accomplished, 
though  feeling  a  consciousness  that  he  has  not  "  handled 
the  word  of  God  deceitfully." 

This  little  treatise  would  probably  never  have  courted 
the  notice  of  the  Christian  community,  had  it  not  been  that 
the  author's  sentiment  upon  the  subject  of  open  communion 
has  been  so  freely  used  against  his  extended  usefulness  in 
preaching  the  gospel  of  Chr'st.  It  was  never  his  intention 
to  do  more  than  declare  his  conviction  that,  in  the  New 
Testament,  open  communion  was  "  a  self-evident  princi- 
ple." Though  a  baptist,  and  allowing  that  ordinance  the 
full  importance  it  demands  in  the  Christian  dispensation, 
he  did  not  feel  it  to  be  a  paramount  object  in  his  ministry, 
or  the  ground  f<y  separating  from  other  Christians  at  the 
Lord's  table. 


PREFACE. 


The  author  fully  believes  that  he  has  demonstrated  the 
principle  of  restricted  communion  with  baptists  to  be  anti- 
scriptural ;  thus  proving  that  the  error  concerning  com- 
munion is  not  with  him,  but  with  those  who  proscribe  his 
views. 

The  subjects  treated  of  in  this  work  have  led  the  writer 
to  expose  some  departures  from  the  principles  of  the  New 
Testament  by  perhaps  all  denominations — it  is  hoped  not 
in  an  unchristian  spirit,  but  with  the  earnest  desire  that 
all  may  be  more  anxious  to  take  God's  book  for  a  guide. 

The  work  appears  in  seven  parts :  the  first  is  a  design 
to  show  John's  baptism  to  be  no  Christian  ordinance ;  the 
second,  the  nature  of  Christian  baptism,  &c. ;  the  third, 
the  institute  of  the  Lord's  Supper,  &c. ;  the  fourth,  the 
true  nature  of  a  Christian  church,  and  that  all  prerequisites 
to  membership  but  faith  are  of  man's  invention,  and  anti- 
scriptural  ;  the  fifth,  the  contrast  of  a  New-Testament  or- 
ganized society  with  human  organizations  under  the  name 
of  "  churches ;"  the  sixth,  the  baptist  denomination  in  its 
rise  and  progress,  <S:c. ;  the  seventh,  the  features  of  re- 
stricted and  free  communion  in  contrast,  and  the  results  in 
their  bearing  upon  society. 

That  the  reader  may  "prove  all  things,  and  hold  fast 
tliat  which  is  good,"  is  the  prayer  of 

The  Author. 


New  York,  December,  1852. 


CONTENTS. 


PART  1. 

JOHN'S   BAPTISM. 

1.— History  of  his  Birth pagk  7 

2 — The  Harbinger  of  Jesus  Christ 33 

3  —His  Call  to  the  Ministry  of  his  Office 17 

4. — The  Dispensation  under  which  John  ministered 21 

5. — J^sus  baptized  by  John 26 

fi.— The  Character  or  the  Rite  administered  to  Christ 30 

7. — Proof  demonstrable  that  John's  Baptism  was  not  Christian 37 

8. — The  Period  when  the  Christian  Dispensation  superseded  the  Jew- 
ish    44 

§  9. — The  Baptism  administered  by  Christ's  Disciples  before  the  Day  of 

Pentecost 48 

PART  II. 

CHRISTIAN    BAPTISM. 

§  1. — The  Circumstances  connected  with  its  Institution 53 

|  2. — The  Interim  brfore  its  Administration 59 

§  3. — The  Character  and  Effects  of  the  Apostles'  Preaching  on  the  Day 

of  Pentecost 64 

4. — Nature  of  the  Ordinance  of  Baptism 69 

5. — The  Practice  of  the  Apostles  and  Early  Disciples 75 

6  —The  Proper  Subjects  for  Baptism 81 

?. — Baptism  perverted  in  its  Signification  and  Use 85 

8.— The  Things  signified  in  Baprisri 92 

9. — Closing  Reflections 97 


PART  III. 

THE    LORD'S   SUPPER. 

1.— Preparation  for  the  Paschal  Supper 101 

2.  —The  assembled  Company  at  Supper 105 

3.— The  Institution  of  the  Lord's  Supper 110 

4. — The  Elements  used  at  the  Lord's'  Supper 113 

5  — The  Form  of  administering  the  Bread 119 

6 — The  Form  of  administering  the  Wine 125 

7. — The  Time  for  observing  this  sacred  Feast 134 

8. — The  Ends  answered  in  Eating  the  Lord's  Supper 139 

9. — The  Rightful  Subjects  to  engage  in  it 146 


CONTENTS. 


PART  IV. 

THE    CHURCH. 

1. — Preliminary  Observations PAGE  149 

i  2.— The  Etymology  of  rh<-  Word  "  Church" ] 53 

3.— Use  of  the  Term  "  Church"  in  the  Scriptures 157 

4. — The  Bodies  distinguished  under  the  Title  "  Church"  in  the  Scrip- 
tures    163 

5  —The  Character  of  the  Assemblies 169 

6. — The  Historical  Features  of  the  Innovation  upon  Church  Govern- 
ment    174 

7. — Dent  minational  Equality  no  Safeguard  against  Corruption  and  Op- 
pression    181 

8. — The  Visibility  of  Churches  and  Members 184 

9.— The  Ends  answered  by  a  Christian  Church  in  the  World 192 

PART  V. 

ORGANIZED    BODIES. 

1 — Scriptura11y-orgnniz°d  Borlies 197 

2. — Unscriptu rally-organized  Christian  Bodies 206 

3.— T^rms  of  Church-Membership 212 

4 — Modes  of  Admission  to  the  Church 217 

5. — The  Relative  Position  of  Ordinances 225 

fi. — The  Authority  exercised  over  the  Lord's  Table 231 

7. — Restricted  Communion  of  Organized  Baptist  Churches  not  author- 
ized in  Scripture 235 

§  8. — The  Grounds  upon  which  Restricted  Communion  is  defended  . . .  238 

PART  VI. 

THE    BAPTIST    DENOMINATION. 

§  1.— The  Baptismal  Controversy  in  the  first  Fifteen  Centuries  of  the 

Christian  Era 245 

S  2. — The  Oriarin  of  the  Denomination 251 

ft  3. — Baptist  Denomination  in  Great  Britain 258 

§  4. — Circumstances  which  operated  to  make  Close  Communion  a  cher- 
ished Principle 266 

§  5. — The  Baptist  Denomination  not  without  some  Men  of  profound 

Knowledge 271 

5  6.— American  Baptists 277 

6  7. — Baptists  of  the  United  States  under  a  Yoke 282 

§  8. — Summary  Remarks 288 

PART  VII. 

FEATURES   OF    RESTRICTED    AND    FREE    COMMUNION. 

§  1. — Basis  upon  which  Close  and  Open  Communion  rests  with  Baptists  293 
§  2. — The  Relation  Open  Communion  bears  to  the  so-called   Baptist 

Churches 301 

§  3. — The  Powers  the  two  Institutions  possess  to  sustain  their  Govern- 
ments    308 

6  4. — Operations  of  the  two  Systems 313 

6  5. — The  Spirit  displayed  in  maintaining  Close  and  Open  Communion.  319 

0  6. — The  Destined  Influence  of  Close  and  Open  Communion 325 

$7.— Closing  Appeal 331 


PART   I. 


JOHN'S   BAPTISM 


SECTION   I. HISTORY   OF   HIS   BERTH. 

The  advent  of  the  Messiah  was  the  constant 
burden  of  prophetic  announcement ;  and  there 
was  as  much  anxiety  to  know  the  exact  period 
of  his  coming,  on  the  part  of  the  prophets  them- 
selves, as  on  that  of  the  people. 

The  prophetic  revelations  opened  by  degrees 
a  vast  amount  of  information  on  this  subject; 
and,  by  a  succession  of  communications,  the  ex- 
pectation of  the  event  was  constantly  agitating 
the  minds  of  the  people  for  about  four  thousand 
years. 

It  was  revealed  by  the  prophets  that  there 
should  be,  immediately  preceding  the  coming 


8  CHRISTIAN   ORDINANCES.  • 

of  the  Lord,  a  notable  person  to  go  before  his 
face,  to  prepare  his  way.  This  individual  was 
sufficiently  described  to  be  known,  when  appear- 
ing, as  the  harbinger  of  the  Lord. 

The  prophecies  having  all  been  delivered  re- 
lating to  the  coming  of  the  holy  and  just  One, 
with  a  circumstantial  minuteness  in  which  noth- 
ing was  omitted  which  bore  upon  his  character 
or  appearance,  or  the  time,  place,  and  circum- 
stances connected  with  his  advent ;  it  remained, 
after  the  retirement  of  Malachi  from  the  labors 
of  his  office,  for  the  people  to  expect,  in  the  next 
prophet  who  appeared  among  them,  a  messen- 
ger to  announce  the  speedy  coming  of  "  the  de- 
sire of  all  nations  P 

The  long  succession  of  Jewish  prophets  hav- 
ing passed  away,  an  interim  of  about  four  hun- 
dred years  rolled  on,  and  there  was  no  other 
manifestation  of  the  prophetic  gift.  The  canon 
of  the  Old-Testament  Scriptures  had  closed  up 
with  these  announcements :  "  Behold,  I  will 
send  my  messenger,  and  he  shall  prepare  the 
way  before  me :  and  the  Lord  whom  ye  seek 
shall  suddenly  come  to  his  temple,  even  the 
messenger  of  the  covenant  whom  ye  delight 
in,"  &c.  (Mai.  3  :  1).     "  Remember  ye  the  law 


9 


of  Moses  my  servant,  which  I  commanded  unto 
him  in  Horeb  for  all  Israel,  with  the  statutes 
and  judgments.  Behold,  I  will  send  you  Elijah 
the  prophet  before  the  coining  of  the  great  and 
dreadful  day  of  the  Lord :  and  he  shall  turn  the 
heart  of  the  fathers  to  the  children,  and  the  heart 
of  the  children  to  their  fathers,  lest  I  come  and 
smite  the  earth  with  a  curse"  (Mai.  4 :  4-6). 

All,  therefore,  was  waiting  for  the  ushering 
in  of  the  harbinger  of  the  Messiah ;  every  cir- 
cumstance of  ancient  prediction  seemed  to  gath- 
er to  a  point  of  time  then  close  at  hand.  The 
prophetic  stars  shone  in  the  firmament,  but  the 
light  they  reflected  was  the  borrowed  rays  from 
the  "  Sun  of  Righteousness,"  and  pointed  back 
to  him ;  from  these  the  predictions  were  return- 
ing as  so  many  lines  from  the  circumference  of 
a  circle  to  the  centre,  and  the  whole  body  of 
light  and  truth  in  revelation  was  drawn  to  one 
focus,  concentrating  in  that  period  in  the  his- 
tory of  the  world. 

It  was  announced  that  John  Baptist  was  now 
to  appear.  The  circumstances  attending  his 
birth  were  of  a  peculiar  character,  as  if  designed 
by  God  to  draw  more  than  common  attention, 
that  in  this  individual  might  be  seen  the  true 
l* 


10  CHRISTIAN    ORDINANCES. 

"prophet  of  the  Highest,"  to  "go  before  the 
face  of  the  Lord."  His  parents  were  both  well 
stricken  in  years,  and  childless.  Zacharias  his 
father  was  a  priest ;  and  while  officiating  in  the 
temple  at  the  time  of  incense,  when  the  whole 
multitude  of  the  people  were  praying  without, 
an  angel  from  heaven  announced  to  him  the 
future  birth  of  a  son,  and  acquainted  him  with, 
the  office  and  character  he  was  designed  to  sus- 
tain. The  name  by  which  he  should  be  called 
was  also  made  known,  the  holiness  and  absti- 
nence of  the  life  he  should  lead,  and  likewise 
that  he  should  be  filled  with  the  Holy  Ghost 
from  his  birth.  The  event  was  calculated  to 
give  Zacharias  joy  and  gladness,  as  many  were 
to  rejoice  at  his  birth.  Moreover,  the  angel 
added :  "  Many  of  the  children  of  Israel  shall 
he  turn  to  the  Lord  their  God.  And  he  shall 
go  before  him  in  the  spirit  and  power  of  Elias, 
to  turn  the  heart  of  the  fathers  to  the  children, 
and  the  disobedient  to  the  wisdom  of  the  just; 
to  make  ready  a  people  prepared  for  the  Lord" 
(Luke  1 :  16, 17).  But  Zacharias  was  slow  to  be- 
lieve all  this,  and  for  his  unbelief  he  was  struck 
dumb.  The  people  marvelled  without  because 
he  tarried  so  long  in  the  temple ;  but  when  he 


11 


came  out,  and  could  not  speak,  they  understood 
that  he  had  seen  a  vision. 

John  was  born  according  to  the  angel's  an- 
nouncement, and,  when  he  was  circumcised  on 
the  eighth  day,  there  was  a  disposition  to  call 
him  after  the  name  of  his  father,  but  Elisabeth 
said,  "JSTot  so,  but  he  shall  be  called  John;" 
and  they  made  signs  to  his  father  to  know  how 
he  would  have  him  called — when  Zacharias 
wrote,  "  His  name  is  John"  (the  grace  or  mercy 
of  Jehovah).  Hereupon  his  tongue  was  loosed, 
and  he  spake  and  praised  God. 

The  spirit  of  inspiration  had  subsided  for  four 
hundred  years,  but  now  it  filled  the  father  of 
John.  He  broke  forth  under  the  powerful  in- 
fluence of  the  Holy  Ghost,  saying:  "Blessed 
be  the  Lord  God  of  Israel ;  for  he  hath  visited 
and  redeemed  his  people,  and  hath  raised  up  a 
horn  of  salvation  for  us  in  the  house  of  his  ser- 
vant David ;  as  he  spake  by  the  mouth  of  his 
holy  prophets,  which  have  been  since  the  world 
began :  that  we  should  be  saved  from  our  ene- 
mies, and  from  the  hand  of  all  that  hate  us ;  to 
perform  the  mercy  promised  to  our  fathers,  and 
to  remember  his  holy  covenant ;  the  oath  which 
he  sware  to  our  father  Abraham,  that  he  would 


12  CHRISTIAN   ORDINANCES. 

grant  unto  us,  that  we  being  delivered  out  of 
the  hand  of  our  enemies,  might  serve  him  with- 
out fear,  in  holiness  and  righteousness  before 
him,  all  the  days  of  our  life."  Then  turning  to 
his  infant  son,  he  exclaimed :  "  Thou  child  shalt 
be*  called  the  prophet  of  the  Highest ;  for  thou 
shalt  go  before  the  face  of  the  Lord,  to  prepare 
his  ways ;  to  give  knowledge  of  salvation  unto 
his  people  by  the  remission  of  their  sins,  through 
the  tender  mercy  of  our  God ;  whereby  the  day- 
spring  from  on  high  hath  visited  us,  to  give 
light  to  them  that  sit  in  darkness  and  in  the 
shadow  of  death,  to  guide  our  feet  into  the  way 
of  peace"  (Luke  1 :  68-79). 

The  wonder  of  the  people,  at  what  they  had 
seen  and  heard,  led  to  much  excitement  in  the 
whole  neighborhood — so  that  it  is  recorded: 
"  Fear  came  upon  all  that  dwelt  round  about 
them  :  and  all  these  sayings  were  noised  abroad 
throughout  all  the  hill-country  of  Judea.  And 
all  they  that  heard  them  laid  them  up  in  their 
hearts,  saying,  '  What  manner  of  child  shall 
this  be  V  And  the  hand  of  the  Lord  was  with 
him." 


13 


SECTION   II. THE   HARBINGER    OF   JESUS    CHRIST. 

The  exciting  incidents  in  the  history  of  Zach- 
arias  and  the  birth  of  his  son  were  of  a  nature 
to  act  favorably  for  the  reception  of  John  as  a 
prophet  whenever  he  should  make  his  public 
appearance,  and  until  then  not  much  has  been 
recorded  of  his  life. 

He  was  much  retired,  seeking  seclusion  from 
society.  "  He  was  in  the  deserts,!'  in  those  parts 
of  Judea  which  were  little  inhabited.  Separated 
from  noise,  riot,  dissipation,  and  public  tempta- 
tions, he  had  opportunities  of  cultivating  that 
sanctity  of  mind,  through  communion  with  God, 
so  highly  adapted  for  the  public  career  which 
was  to  follow  in  his  history.  He  continued  in 
the  deserts  "  till  the  day  of  his  showing  unto 
Israel,"  when  he  entered  on  his  prophetic  office, 
as  it  were  by  inauguration,  at  the  age  of  thirty 
years. 

He  appeared  in  the  wilderness  of  Judea  as 
the  prophet  to  "  go  before  the  face  of  the  Lord," 
answering  his  announcement  by  Isaiah :  "  The 
voice  of  him  that  crieth  in  the  wilderness,  '  Pre- 
pare ye  the  way  of  the  Lord,  make  straight  in 


14  CHRISTIAN   ORDINANCES. 

the  desert  a  highway  for  our  God.'  Every  val- 
ley shall  be  exalted,  and  every  mountain  and 
hill  shall  be  made  low ;  and  the  crooked  shall 
be  made  straight,  and  the  rough  places  plain ; 
and  the  glory  of  the  Lord  shall  be  revealed,  and 
all  flesh  shall  see  it  together ;  for  the  mouth  of 
the  Lord  hath  spoken  it"  (Isa.  40 :  3,  4). 

It  will  be  seen  in  this  prophetic  allusion  to 
John,  that  the  imagery  is  taken  from  the  custom 
of  eastern  monarchs,  who,  whenever  they  en- 
tered upon  an  expedition  or  took  a  journey,  es- 
pecially through  desert  and  untraversed  coun- 
tries, sent  harbingers  before  them  to  prepare  all 
things  for  their  passage ;  also  pioneers  to  open 
the  passes,  to  level  the  ways,  and  to  remove  all 
impediments.  John  Baptist  calls  himself  the 
pioneer  of  the  Messiah,  whose  business  was  to 
call  with  a  loud  voice  upon  the  people  who  were 
dwelling  in  the  deserts,  and  to  level  and  prepare 
the  roads  by  which  the  king  was  about  to  march. 

The  Jewish  church  was  that  desert  country  to 
which  John  was  sent  to  announce  the  coming  of 
the  Messiah.  It  was  at  that  time  destitute  of  all 
religious  cultivation,  and  of  the  spirit  and  prac- 
tice of  piety.  John  was  sent  to  prepare  the 
way  of  the  Lord  by  preaching  repentance.    The 


15 


desert  is  therefore  to  be  considered  as  affording 
a  proper  emblem  of  the  rude  state  of  the  Jew- 
ish church,  which  is  the  true  wilderness  meant 
by  the  prophet,  in  which  John  was  to  prepare 
the  way  of  the  promised  Messiah. 

The  character,  appearance,  and  office  of  John, 
answer  exactly  to  the  predictions  concerning 
the  one  who  was  to  go  before  the  face  of  the 
Lord  to  prepare  his  way.  He  again  and  again 
declared  that  this  was  his  true  character  and 
office.  "  I  am  the  voice  of  one  crying  in  the 
wilderness,  '  Make  straight  the  way  of  the  Lord,' 
as  saith  the  prophet  Esaias."  Nor  does  the  evi- 
dence rest  upon  his  own  testimony  only ;  the 
evangelists  have  been  particular  to  confirm  the 
truth.  "  This  is  he,"  says  Matthew  in  his  gos- 
pel, "  that  was  spoken  of  by  the  prophet  Esaias, 
saying,  '  The  voice  of  one  crying  in  the  wilder- 
ness, Prepare  ye  the  way  of  the  Lord,  make  his 
paths  straight.' "  Jesus,  too,  bore  evidence  to 
this  character  of  John,  by  saying,  "  This  is  he 
of  whom  it  is  written,  '  Behold  I  send  my  mes- 
senger before  thy  face,  which  shall  prepare  thy 
way  before  thee,' "  to  which  the  Saviour  adds : 
"  Verily  I  say  unto  you,  among  them  that  are 
born  of  woman,  there  hath  not  risen  a  greater 


16  CHRISTIAN    ORDINANCES. 

than  John  the  Baptist :  notwithstanding,  he  that 
is  least  in  the  kingdom  of  heaven  is  greater 
than  he.     And  from  the  days  of  John  the  Bap- 
tist until  now  the  kingdom  of  heaven  suffereth 
violence,  and  the  violent  take  it  by  force.     For 
all  the  prophets  and  the  law  prophesied  until 
John.     And  if  ye  will  receive  it,  this  is  Elias, 
which  was  for  to  come."     Again,  we  find  the 
disciples  asking  Jesus,  as  he  came  down  from 
the  mount,  "  Why  then  say  the  scribes  that  Eli- 
as  must  first  come  ?"     To  this  Jesus  answered  : 
"Elias  truly  shall  first  come  and  restore  all 
things.     But  I  say  unto  you,  that  Elias  is  come 
already,  and  they  knew  him  not,  but  have  done 
unto  him  whatsoever  they  listed."  ......"  Then 

the  disciples  understood  that  he  spake  unto  them 
of  John  the  Baj)tist." 

It  seemed  necessary  to  make  allusions  to  John 
in  the  way  in  which  he  was  to  appear  before 
the  world  according  to  prophetic  announce- 
ment, as  it  must  have  direct  bearing  upon  the 
other  duties  of  his  life,  which  we  have  to  con- 
sider. We  have,  therefore,  as  briefly  as  tire  cir- 
cumstances would  admit,  noticed  him  as  the 
messenger  going  before  the  face  of  the  Lord,  as 
the  "  prophet  of  the  Highest."     This  will  lead 


17 


us,  in  the  next  place,  to  observe  particularly 
his  public  ministry,  accompanied  with  the  reli- 
gious rite  of  baptism. 

SECTION    III. HIS    CALL    TO    THE    MINISTRY    OF   HIS 

OFFICE. 

John  remained  in  privacy,  though  perhaps 
fully  conscious  of  the  end  for  which  he  was 
born,  until  the  Lord  called  him  forth  into  pub- 
lic life.  "  The  word  of  God  came  unto  John, 
the  son  of  Zacharias,  in  the  wilderness."  He 
was  slow  to  move  till  he  had  that  word,  but  was 
prompt  to  act  at  the  command  of  the  Lord. 
"And  he  came  into  all  the  country  about  Jor- 
dan, preaching  the  baptism  of  repentance  for 
the  remission  of  sins." 

Everything  in  his  appearance,  his  manner, 
and  his  doctrine,  tended  to  excite  a  solemnity 
and  seriousness  in  the  minds  of  his  audience. 
Lie  was  clothed  like  the  ancient  prophets,  with 
a  rough  garment  of  camel's  hair,  and  a  leathern 
girdle  about  his  waist.  His  food  was  such  as 
the  wilderness  yielded,  "  locusts  and  wild  hon- 
ey." His  address  partook  of  the  fervor  of  his 
soul,  nothing  vacillating  or  pusillanimous,  but 


18  CHRISTIAN   ORDINANCES. 

was  calculated  to  strike  awe  into  the  minds  of 
the  people. 

He  received  his  commission  from  God.  Both 
his  preaching,  and  the  rite  of  baptism,  which 
he  administered  to  the  penitent,  were  given  him 
from  heaven.  As  one  that  feared  not  man,  nor 
regarded  his  favor  or  applause,  he  discharged 
the  duties  of  his  office  in  the  wilderness  of  Ju- 
dea,  calling  upon  all  who  came  within  the  reach 
of  his  voice,  "  Repent  ye,  for  the  kingdom  of 
heaven  is  at  hand."  God  was  about  to  visit  his 
people  ;  the  dispensation  of  grace  to  be  admin- 
istered by  Emmanuel  was  opening  upon  them  ; 
and  it  was  needful  and  essential  to  their  receiv- 
ing "  the  author  and  finisher  of  salvation,"  that 
they  who  had  so  far  departed  from  the  sincerity 
of  a  pious  and  godlike  nation,  should  manifest 
signs  of  contrition,  and  thereby  be  a  people  pre- 
pared for  the  Lord. 

John,  in  preaching  repentance  to  the  Jewish 
people,  was  engaged  in  the  same  character  of 
ministry  which  preceding  prophets  had  dis- 
charged. The  people  were  constantly  revolting 
from  the  living  God,  and  more  or  less  the  doc- 
trine of  repentance  was  a  prominent  theme  in 
all  their  ministry.     But,  in  addition,  John  had 


john's  baptism.  19 


to  bear  tidings  which  others  had  not ;  for  though 
they  proclaimed  a  coming  Messiah,  yet  he  was 
not  near  at  hand :  but  John,  in  his  commission, 
had  to  declare  that  the  time  had  arrived  when 
the  promise  should  be  fulfilled  —  "  The  kingdom 
of  heaven  is  at  hand." 

When  the  Lord  gave  intimation  to  his  ser- 
vants that  he  was  about  to  appear  among  his 
people  by  any  special  manifestation,  they  were 
generally  called  upon  to  sanctify  themselves, 
and  particularly  if  they  had  been  defiled  by  any 
iniquity.  It  was  in  this  way  they  were  prepared 
for  the  Lord,  in  the  ceremonial  sanctification  of 
their  persons,  and  in  humility  before  God.  The 
sanctification  of  people  was  by  the  washing  of 
water ;  and,  in  this  particular,  though  John  had 
his  commission  directly  from  heaven,  it  evident- 
ly bore  the  marks  of  those  ceremonial  obser- 
vances under  the  law,  when  the  people  were 
brought  to  repentance,  and  were  purified  by 
water,  upon  the  intimation  that  God  was  about 
to  visit  them. 

There  could  be  no  reception  for  the  people 
into  the  kingdom  of  heaven,  when  the  Messiah 
should  appear  among  them,  did  they  not  repent 
and  forsake  their  sins.     John  considered  all  per- 


20  CHRISTIAN    ORDINANCES. 

sons,  without  exception,  as  in  a  state  of  deprav- 
ity, guilt,  and  condemnation ;  and  as  he  called 
upon  them  to  repent,  many  became  contrite, 
and  those  who  professed  deep  sorrow  of  soul 
were  baptized,  thereby  publicly  acknowledging 
their  pollution,  their  need  of  spiritual  washing, 
and  determination  to  abandon  every  evil  way. 
The  ministry  of  John,  attached  to  the  reports 
which  had  gone  forth  concerning  the  circum- 
stances of  his  birth,  attracted  multitudes  to  him 
in  the  wilderness  where  he  was  preaching  and 
baptizing.  There  was  doubtless  every  class  of 
character  going  out  of  Jerusalem,  and  the  cities 
round  about  the  wilderness,  to  attend  on  his 
ministry,  and  to  be  baptized  of  him.  And  as  it 
was  his  grand  object  to  fulfil  his  mission,  he  was 
evidently  greatly  concerned  "  to  prepare  a  peo- 
ple for  the  Lord."  Questioning  as  he  did,  there- 
fore, the  sincerity  of  the  multitude,  who  were 
eager  to  submit  to  the  baptism  he  administered, 
with  stern  rebuke  he  thus  addressed  them  :  "  O 
generation  of  vipers,  who  hath  warned  you  to 
flee  from  the  wrath  to  come  ?  Bring  forth  there- 
fore fruits  worthy  of  repentance,  and  begin  not 
to  say  within  yourselves,  '  We  have  Abraham 
to  our  father ;'  for  I  say  unto  you,  that  God  is 


John's  baptism.  21 


able  of  these  stones  to  raise  up  children  nnto 
Abraham.  And  now  also  the  axe  is  laid  unto 
the  root  of  the  tree ;  every  tree  therefore  which 
bringeth  not  forth  good  fruit,  is  hewn  down, 
and  cast  into  the  fire." 

His  words  sank  deep  into  the  hearts  of  many ; 
they  became  concerned  to  know  and  do  their 
duty :  numbers  manifested  a  legal  repentance, 
and  some,  we  may  believe,  a  godly  sorrow,  that 
needed  not  to  be  repented  of,  all  of  whom  were 
baptized  confessing  their  sins,  Relieving  in  the 
speedy  appearing  of  the  Saviour,  and  the  visi- 
ble manifestation  of  the  kingdom  of  heaven,  or 
the  dispensation  of  the  grace  of  God  by  Jesus 
Christ. 

SECTION    IV. THE    DISPENSATION   UNDER    WHICH 

JOHN    MINISTERED. 

ISTow  it  is  evident  that,  when  John  commenced 
his  ministry,  he  knew  nothing  of  the  person  of 
the  Saviour.  Though  they  were  connected  by 
family  relationship,  and  both  mothers  could  con- 
gratulate each  other  prior  to  the  birth  of  either, 
yet  in  the  providence  of  God  they  were  kept 
apart,-  so  that  there  was  no  meeting  or  inter- 


22  CHRISTIAN   ORDINANCES. 

course.  Nothing  had  appeared  of  the  kingdom 
of  heaven — it  was  only  announced  as  at  hand ; 
yet  John  was  fulfilling  his  ministry  in  baptizing 
unto  repentance.  "While,  then,  the  public  ap- 
pearance of  Christ  in  the  ministry  of  his  own 
grace  remained  to  be  revealed,  and  the  kingdom 
of  heaven  was  only  proclaimed  as  being  at  hand, 
and  not  in  actual  existence,  and  while  John  was 
only  a  messenger  to  prepare  the  way  of  the 
Lord,  we  ask,  to  what  dispensation  did  John's 
ministry  belong  ?  It  is  self-evident  that  every 
feature  of  it  bore  a  striking  resemblance  to  the 
Jewish  ceremonial  observances.  It  was  no  new 
thing  for  repentance  and  purification  to  be  en- 
joined upon  the  people,  and  John's  ministry 
only  differed  from  what  had  gone  before,  inas- 
much as  that  it  heralded  the  approach  of  the 
holy  and  just  One. 

John  was  a  Jewish  prophet,  and  the  last  of 
the  prophets.  The  rite  of  baptism  which  he  ad- 
ministered as  peculiar  to  himself  (in  which  all 
who  were  baptized  were  enjoined  to  believe  on 
Him  who  should  come  after  him),  was. the  last 
of  the  instituted  ceremonies  of  the  Jewish  reli- 
gion, reserved  especially  for  John  to  introduce 
and  administer.     It  was  the  baptism  emphati- 


23 


cally  declared  to  be  from  heaven,  and  was  su- 
perseded by  Christian  baptism. 

There  has  been  considerable  perplexity  in  the 
minds  of  those  who  have  written  concerning 
John  as  a  prophet,  to  know  whether  he  is  to 
come  between  the  Jewish  and  Christian  dispen- 
sations, distinct  in  himself  and  office  from  either, 
or  to  occupy  a  place  among  the  Jewish  proph- 
ets, or  be  considered  a  prophet  of  the  kingdom 
of  heaven  —  the  Christian  dispensation. 

It  requires  no  keenness  of  discernment  to  un- 
derstand that  this  perplexity  has  arisen  from 
the  desire  to  endeavor  to  find  a  place  for  the 
messenger  of  the  Lord  to  suit  the  opinions  which 
men  may  wish  to  establish.  Cast  away  these 
conflicting  notions ;  leave  the  prophet  to  find 
his  own  true  and  proper  place  assigned  him  by 
Heaven;  come  with  teachable  dispositions  to 
what  the  Scriptures  declare,  and  there  can  be 
no  doubt  remaining. 

It  seems  to  be  a  matter  passing  strange  that 
men — -and  learned  men  too — have  ventured  to 
create  a  nook  for  him  between  two  dispensa- 
tions, an  idea  absurd  in  the  extreme.  The  Scrip- 
tures nowhere  give  the  most  distant  intimation 
of  a  break  between  the  two  dispensations,  with 


24  CHRISTIAN    ORDINANCES. 

a  link  to  bring  the  two  together.  The  one  flows 
on  into  the  other  as  the  waters  run  on  into  the 
Ocean,  and  we  are  not  prepared  to  countenance 
or  allow  for  one  moment  the  idea,  seeing  the 
Scriptures  have  never  given  any  license  for  it. 

John  was  a  prophet  in  either  the  Jewish  or 
the  Christian  dispensation.  That  there  should 
be  a  difficulty  for  a  moment  with  any  one,  who 
professes  to  read  the  Scriptures,  to  decide  which, 
seems  somewhat  surprising.  The  accumulated 
evidence  which  would  seem  to  say  he  was  not 
in  the  Christian  dispensation  (and  consequently 
did  not  administer  Christian  baptism),  if  fairly 
looked  at,  is  overwhelming  on  every  hand. 
Some  of  this  evidence  we  shall  presently  notice, 
while  we  now  turn  to  one  or  two  circumstances 
sufficiently  convincing  to  prove  that  John  was 
a  prophet,  and  the  last  of  the  prophets,  under 
the  Jewish  dispensation. 

The  language  of  prophecy  concerning  the 
character  and  office  of  John  was,  "  I  will  send 
you  Elijah  the  prophet  before  the  coining  of 
the  great  and  dreadful  day  of  the  Lord."  If 
this  was  to  precede  the  coming  of  the  day  of 
the  Lord,  it  would  be  strange  for  us  to  interpret 
it  as  after ;  and  if  the  resemblance  of  his  char- 


25 


acter  and  office  should  so  correspond  with  the 
prophet  Elijah  as  for  him  to  bear  his  name,  un- 
der what  other  dispensation  could  he  exist,  for 
he  was  never  to  acomplish  among  the  Gentiles 
what  Elijah  did  among  the  Jews,  in  recovering 
them  from  idolatry  and  backsliding  ?  When  Je- 
sus said  to  his  disciples,  concerning  John,  "And 
if  ye  will  receive  it,  this  is  Elias  which  was  for 
to  come,"  it  was  in  the  same  connection  that  he 
testified,  "  Verily,  I  say  unto  you,  among  them 
that  are  born  of  women,  there  hath  not  risen  a 
greater  prophet  than  John  the  Baptist."  The 
comparison  doubtless  here  must  have  been  with 
the  Jewish  prophets ;  for  if  John  were  not  one 
of  their  order,  and  under  the  same  dispensation 
with  them,  upon  what  ground  could  there  be 
such  a  comparison?  But,  in  order  to  give  a 
more  definite  force  to  this  statement,  Jesus  adds, 
"  Notwithstanding,  he  that  is  least  in  the  king- 
dom of  heaven  is  greater  than  heP  It  seems 
impossible  to  attach  any  other  meaning  to  these 
words  than  that  the  least  of  the  prophets  under 
the  Christian  dispensation  should  be  so  blessed 
with  additional  knowledge  and  privilege,  that 
he  should  be  greater  than  the  greatest  prophet 
under  the  Jewish  dispensation. 


26  CHRISTIAN    ORDINANCES. 

John,  in  addressing  his  disciples,  said,  "  Ye 
yourselves  bear  me  witness  that  I  said,  I  am 
not  the  Christ,  but  that  I  am  sent  before  him." 
Here,  again,  if  he  were  before  the  Messiah,  how 
could  he  be  in  his  kingdom  ?  He  adds :  "  He 
that  hath  the  bride  is  the  bridegroom :  but  the 
friend  of  the  bridegroom,  which  standeth  and 
heareth  him,  rejoiceth  greatly  because  of  the 
bridegroom's  voice:  this  my  joy  therefore  is 
fulfilled."  Does  he  speak  here  like  one  in  the 
Christian  dispensation,  or  the  Christian  church, 
which  is  the  bride  whom  the  bridegroom  hath  ? 
He  is  only  the  friend  of  the  bridegroom,  as  he 
acknowledges.  The  truth  is  beyond  doubt  that 
John  and  his  ministry  belonged  to  the  Jewish 
dispensation ;  that  the  repentance  he  demanded 
was  of  a  legal  character,  and  the  baptism  he  ad- 
ministered had  relation  to  a  ceremonial  obser- 
vance under  the  law. 

SECTION   V. JESUS   BAPTIZED   BY   JOHN. 

"While  John  was  engaged  in  the  office  of  his 
ministry,  and  multitudes  were  pressing  to  hear 
him,  we  find  Jesus  going  forth  to  hear  and  de- 
mand of  the  prophet  the  rite  of  baptism  to  be 


27 


administered  to  him.  The  stern  rebuker  of  the 
multitude  for  their  sins,  humbles  himself  before 
the  Lord,  and,  conscious  of  his  inferiority  to  Him 
whose  harbinger  he  was,  said,  "  I  have  need  to 
be  baptized  of  thee,  and  comest  thou  unto  me  I" 

This  was  the  first  meeting  between  the  Lord 
and  his  messenger,  and  it  is  one  calculated  to 
fill  the  contemplating  mind  with  admiration. 
The  mighty  Lord  and  long-promised  Messiah 
appeared  at  last  in  his  public  character :  not  in 
the  pomp  and  grandeur  of  an  earthly  prince  fol- 
lowing his  pioneer  with  a  court  retinue,  nor 
with  the  attractive  pageantry  of  any  earthly 
greatness ;  but  with  an  assembled  multitude  of 
lowly  sinners,  to  submit  to  the  observance  of 
the  institutions  of  Heaven,  and  be  reckoned  one 
among  the  people,  in  all  meekness  and  lowli- 
ness. The  one  who,  being  in  the  form  of  God, 
and  thought  it  not  robbery  to  be  equal  with 
God,  yet  made  himself  of  no  reputation. 

Can  we  wander  in  our  imagination  to  the 
side  of  the  river  Jordan,  in  the  wilderness  of 
Judea,  and  see  from  every  quarter  multitudes 
wending  their  way  to  one  spot,  where  an  assem- 
bled group  are  already  congregated?  There 
stands  an  individual  whose  presence  is  the  lb- 


28  CHRISTIAN   ORDINANCES. 

cus  of  attraction,  of  stern  yet  amiable  aspect  — 
great,  yet  loving  and  compassionate ;  his  cam- 
el's-hair  raiment,  fastened  around  him  with  a 
leathern  girdle,  gives  him  the  aspect  of  a  proph- 
et of  the  Lord,  and  his  whole  demeanor  and 
ministry  confirm  the  impression,  for  "  all  held 
John  to  be  a  prophet."  He  was,  as  described 
by  the  Saviour  himself,  "  a  burning  and  a  shi- 
ning light." 

The  scenes  and  excitement  here  had  contin- 
ued for  some  time,  the  prophet  preaching  re- 
pentance and  baptizing  penitents  in  Jordan ; 
they  confessing  their  sins,  and  he  pointing  them 
to  look  for  the  speedy  appearance  of  the  Sav- 
iour, saying,  "The  kingdom  of  heaven  is  at 
hand."  But  now  a  new  feature  is  given  to  the 
increasing  excitement :  another  person  appears, 
who  is  greater  than  John.  There  goes  the  meek 
and  lowly  Jesus  to  this  same  spot  of  interest ; 
and,  by  the  intimation  of  Heaven,  John  recog- 
nises the  One  whom  he  had  been  constantly  af- 
firming to  the  multitude  was  at  hand :  therefore 
he  was  sent  baptizing  with  water.  Now  he  could 
say:  "There  standeth  one  among  you,  whom 
ye  know  not ;  he  it  is,  who  coining  after  me  is 
preferred  before  me,  whose  shoe's  latchet  I  am 


29 


not  worthy  to  unloose."  The  great  prophet  is 
abased  before  the  Lord,  and  declares  his  con- 
sciousness that  the  lowest  menial  servitude  he 
is  not  worthy  to  discharge  for  such  an  august 
and  glorious  being  as  he  who  now  stands  in  the 
congregated  audience. 

But  Jesus  sues  for  the  baptismal  rite  to  be 
administered  to  him  at  the  prophet's  hands, 
amid  all  the  conscious  unworthiness  felt,  and 
the  scruples  made,  by  John.  Hear  the  prevail- 
ing words  of  the  "  Messenger  of  the  covenant," 
the  Lord  of  life  and  glory :  "  Suffer  it  to  be  so 
now :  for  thus  it  becometh  us  to  fulfil  all  righ- 
teousness." It  became  as  binding  on  John  to 
administer,  as  it  was  on  Christ  to  submit  to,  the 
rite  of  baptism. 

But  here  another  fresh  incident  occurs.  The 
Saviour  is  baptized,  and  coming  up  out  of  the 
water ;  John  is  looking  up,  when  the  heavens 
open  to  his  view,  and  he  sees  the  Spirit  of  God 
descending  like  a  dove,  and  lighting  upon  Jesus, 
while  a  voice  from  heaven  proclaims,  "This  is 
my  beloved  Son,  in  whom  I  am  well  pleased." 
Oh,  how  solemnly  majestic  is  the  scene  at  Jor- 
dan, in  the  review  of  such  events ! 

The  Saviour  is  baptized  in  obedience  to  the 


30  CHRISTIAN    ORDINANCES. 

institutions  of  Heaven.  The  Spirit  honors  him 
in  his  descent,  and  the  voice  of  God  expresses 
his  delight  in  his  dear  Son.  John  receives  the 
definite  testimony  that  Jesus  is  the  true  Mes- 
siah, and  speaks  of  it  as  the  confirmatory  testi- 
mony ;  he  could  now  unhesitatingly  point  to  Je- 
sus and  say,  "Behold  the  Lamb  of  God,  which 
taketh  away  the  sin  of  the  world !"  He  gives 
this  reason  for  so  speaking  of  Jesus  :  "  I  knew 
him  not"  (that  is,  not  as  now,  in  the  character  of 
the  Saviour's  office  and  work),  "  but  he  that  sent 
me  to  baptize  with  water,  the  same  said  unto 
me,  '  Upon  whom  thou  shalt  see  the  Spirit  de- 
scending, and  remaining  on  him,  the  same  is  he 
which  baptizeth  with  the  Holy  Ghost.'  And  I 
saw,  and  bare  record,  that  this  is  the  Son  of 
God." 

SECTION    VI. THE    CHARACTER    OF    THE    RITE    AD- 
MINISTERED   TO    CHRIST. 

Having  noticed  the  historical  features  of  the 
baptizing  of  Jesus  by  John  in  Jordan,  the  ques- 
tion now  is :  '  What  was  the  character  of  that 
baptism  which  Jesus  received  at  the  hands  of 
John  —  was  it  Christian,  or  was  it  an  ordinance 


31 


to  be  classed  with  the  institutions  of  the  legal 
dispensation  V 

Some  great  men  have  labored  to  display  their 
weakness  in  attempting  to  prove  it  to  be  a  Chris- 
tian ordinance — the  same  with  the  baptism  now 
enjoined  upon  Christians  to  observe.  Some  men 
of  considerable  literary  attainments  have  ven- 
tured to  expose  their  folly  in  favor  of  their  own 
dogmas,  in  exhibiting  Christ  as  a  pattern  of 
Christian  obedience,  thinking  to  give  greater 
significancy  to  an  ordinance  in  the  minds  of  the 
vulgar  and  untutored  than  it  possesses  as  a  mere 
command  of  Christ's. 

Is  it  not  a  common  thing  at  the  baptismal  wa- 
ters to  hear  the  administrator  of  the  Christian 
institute  dilate  upon  the  acts  of  John  Baptist, 
and  the  historical  features  of  Christ's  baptism, 
telling  the  candidates  that  they  are  following 
their  Divine  Lord  in  the  holy  institution,  while 
they  pervert  the  words  of  the  angel  who  point- 
ed Mary  to  the  tomb  of  Jesus,  and  apply  them 
literally  to  the  water,  saying,  "  Come  see  the 
place  where  the  Xord  lay"  ?  Yast  multitudes 
of  baptists,  in  the  simplicity  of  ignorance,  have 
taken  hold  of  this  sophistry,  and  attached  the 
idea  of  greater  significancy  to  their  Christian 


32  CHRISTIAN   ORDINANCES. 

baptism,  under  the  belief  that  in  this  they  had 
trodden  exactly  in  the  footsteps  of  the  Saviour, 
who  himself  yielded  to  this  Christian  rite. 

So  prone  have  the  generality  of  the  baptists 
been  to  turn  their  minds  to  Christ,  as  their  ex- 
ample in  observing  the  ordinance  of  Christian 
baptism,  that,  to  view  it  as  an  institution  of 
Christ's,  enjoined  by  him  upon  all  his  disciples 
as  his  requirement,  has  comparatively  little  or 
no  weight  upon  their  minds ;  so  that,  were  they 
to  be  convinced  that  the  notions  which  had 
given  so  much  extra  importance  in  their  esti- 
mation to  baptism,  had  no  existence  at  all  in 
reality,  they  would  be  ready  to  regard  the  or- 
dinance with  comparative  indifference.  Such 
would  be  the  consequence  of  erroneously  en- 
deavoring to  strengthen  the  force  of  a  rite  which 
has  its  legitimate  influence  in  being  a  positive 
institution  of  the  Christian  dispensation. 

It  really  seems  too  absurd  to  need  a  word  in 
refutation  of  so  monstrous  an  incongruity  as 
that  which  seeks  to  make  John's  baptism  a 
Christian  ordinance,  and  the  baptism  of  Jesus 
by  John,  Christian  baptism.  Yet,  since  there 
is  no  vulgar  error  but  what  multitudes  will  be 
found  to  embrace  it,  particularly  if  it  has  rela- 


33 


tion  to  religious  doctrines  and  institutes — nor 
no  self-evident  principle  to  which  every  dispas- 
sionate man  of  common  sense  might  bow,  but 
what  some  rigorous  partisan  will  stumble  over 
—  it  may  be  necessary  perhaps  to  ask  of  those 
who  are  infatuated  with  their  own  folly,  that 
which  is  in  itself  evidently  impossible :  *  How 
could  Jesus  be  baptized  into  the  faith  of  that 
of  which  he  himself  was  the  author  and  finish- 
er %  how  could  he  submit  to  a  rite  which  takes 
its  existence  from  his  own  lips  ?  how  could  he 
be  baptized  into  the  Trinity,  himself  a  party  in 
that  Trinity  V  These  and  other  absurdities  must 
have  been,  if  Christ  had  received  from  John 
Christian  baptism. 

It  seems  also  next  to  impossible  that  there 
could  be  any  difficulty  in  the  way  of  under- 
standing the  nature  of  the  Saviour's  address  to 
John,  which  prevailed  over  all  his  scruples  in 
administering  baptism  to  Christ.  "It  becom- 
eth  us  to  fulfil  all  righteousness,"  clearly  proves 
that  whatever  God  had  instituted  and  enjoined 
upon  the  Jewish  people  for  their  observance,  it 
was  meet  that  he  as  a  Jew  should  rigorously 
observe. 

Jesus  was  a  Jew,  of  the  city  of  Bethlehem, 

2* 


34:  CHRISTIAN   ORDINANCES. 

of  the  tribe  of  Judah,  and  of  the  seed  of  David. 
He  was  made  under  the  law,  and  in  the  time 
when  all  the  religious  institutions  were  as  much 
in  force  as  they  had  ever  been ;  as  yet  none 
were  abrogated.  He  stood  as  one  of  the  peo- 
ple, subject  to  every  moral  and  religious  duty, 
and  as  much  required  to  yield  obedience  as  any 
one  in  the  nation.  In  no  one  particular  did  he 
fail  to  observe  the  requirement  of  the  strict  let- 
ter of  the  law. 

All  the  ceremonial  institutions  had  relation 
to  the  character  of  the  people  as  sinners ;  and 
though  Jesus  was  holy,  harmless,  undefiled,  and 
separate  from  sinners,  in  his  own  nature  and 
character,  he  felt  himself  under  obligation  to  re- 
gard with  religious  devotion  every  ceremonial 
enjoined  by  God  upon  the  people.  The  insti- 
tution of  baptism  by  John  was  of  heavenly  ori- 
gin; and,  notwithstanding  Jesus  was  not  one 
who  needed  repentance  nor  ceremonial  purifi- 
cation, yet,  as  one  of  the  nation,  it  was  obliga- 
tory on  him  to  observe  Heaven's  high  laws,  sub- 
mit to  what  God  had  enjoined,  and  so  fulfil  all 
righteousness. 

"We  can  readily  understand  how  important  it 
was  that  He,  who  was  to  be  the  only  mediator 


35 


between  God  and  man,  should  himself  pay  due 
regard  to  everything  enjoined  by  God  for  reli- 
gious observance.  Could  he  who  was  holiness 
itself  treat  with  any  indifference  what  was  righ- 
teously commanded  ?  could  he  who  had  to  plead 
the  cause  of  his  people,  entreat  on  their  behalf 
that  mercy  for  his  sake  should  be  extended  to 
them,  when  he  himself  had  failed  even  in  one 
particular  to  do  honor  to  the  laws  of  Heaven  ? 
]STo,  it  behooved  Jesus  to  fulfil  all  righteousness. 
Born  into  the  world  while  as  yet,  of  necessity, 
the  legal  and  ceremonial  dispensation  was  in 
full  force,  nor  could  come  to  an  end  until  he 
abolished  it  in  his  death  (for  under  it  he  was  to 
live  and  fulfil  the  law),  he  bowed  a  willing  sub- 
mission, and  demanded  that  in  his  own  person 
the  last  religious  institution  under  the  Jewish 
disj:)ensation  should  be  honored  and  obeyed. 

The  sequel  of  that  devout  submission  is 
crowned  with  glory  and  blessedness.  The  heav- 
ens open  —  the  Spirit  descends  upon  Jesus  — 
and  the  Father's  voice  is  heard  to  proclaim, 
"  This  is  my  beloved  Son,  in  whom  I  am  well 
pleased."  The  Father  and  the  Spirit  conjoin  to 
publicly  honor  the  Son,  who  had  thus  done  hon- 
or to  the  institutes  of  Heaven  before  men.     Nor 


36  CHRISTIAN"   ORDINANCES. 

is  this  all,  inasmuch  as  it  would  here  seem  to 
be  manifest  that  he  was  solemnly  inaugurated 
to  the  acts  of  his  public  ministry  and  life. 

The  mission  of  the  Lord  Jesus  was  publicly 
accredited ;  and,  as  he  was  to  be  the  High-Priest 
over  the  house  of  God,  to  offer  gifts  and  sacri- 
fices for  the  people  —  so,  like  the  Aaronical 
priest,  he  was  initiated  into  his  office  by  wash- 
ing and  anointing :  he  was  washed  by  the  bap- 
tism in  water,  and  anointed  by  the  descent  of 
the  Holy  Ghost. 

So  far,  then,  we  have  seen  that  John's  bap- 
tism and  its  administration  to  Christ  is  in  no 
sense  a  Christian  ordinance,  neither  has  in  it 
Christian  example.  All  the  attempts  that  have 
been  made  to  sustain  such  a  view  must  fall  to 
the  ground  as  utterly  worthless  in  the  estima- 
tion of  every  candid  inquirer  after  truth,  and 
it  is  high  time  that  such  unjustifiable  notions 
should  be  put  aside  by  baptists.  If  they  wish 
to  maintain  any  credit  for  sincerity  and  truth- 
fulness, they  must  drop  such  an  untenable  po- 
sition, and  turn  to  the  commission  of  Christ  and 
the  observances  under  the  Christian  dispensa- 
tion, to  advocate  the  rite  of  Christian  baptism, 
and  the  views  which,  as  a  denomination,  they 


37 


seek  to  sustain.     How  far  some  of  them  can  be 
defended  we  have  yet  to  examine. 


BAPTISM   WAS   NOT   CHRISTIAN". 

There  are  circumstances  open  to  investiga- 
tion, of  which  we  would  here  avail  ourselves, 
confirmatory  of  the  opinions  advanced  in  reject- 
ing John's  mission,  ministry,  and  baptism,  as 
belonging  to  the  Christian  dispensation,  and  for 
regarding  it  as  having  a  place  in  the  Jewish 
economy  and  closing  events  connected  with  the 
ancient  institutions  of  the  Jewish  church. 

It  has  been  affirmed  that  John's  baptism  cor- 
responded in  all  particulars  with  the  baptism 
administered  by  the  apostles  and  disciples  of 
our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  after  they  had  received 
their  commission  from  him  to  baptize.  Noth- 
ing can  be  more  easy  than  to  make  broad  asser- 
tions :  they  have  been  doubtless  made  in  this 
particular  from  such  impression  of  mind  having 
been  received ;  but  if  not  to  be  sustained,  we  can 
only  conclude  that  those  impressions  were  the 
effect  of  ignorant  simplicity  and  superstition. 

When  we  turn  to  the  scripture  record,  to  see 


38  CHRISTIAN  ORDINANCES. 

if  we  can  trace  any  such  corresponding  features 
as  are  affirmed  to  exist  between  the  two  ordi- 
nances, we  are  surprised  to  find  that  in  every 
particular  but  one  they  are  at  variance.  They 
bear  no  resemblance  but  in  the  submerging  of 
the  candidates  in  water.  Robert  Hall  thus  speaks 
upon  this  particular  of  the  baptism  of  John,  and 
the  Christian  ordinance :  "  In  order  to  consti- 
tute an  identity  in  religious  rites,  two  things  are 
requisite  —  a  sameness  in  the  corporeal  action, 
and  a  sameness  in  the  import.  The  action  may 
be  the  same,  yet  the  rites  totally  different,  or 
Christian  baptism  must  be  confounded  with 
legal  Jewish  purifications,  the  greater  part  of 
which  consisted  in  a  total  immersion  of  the 
body  in  water." 

John's  baptism  and  Christian  baptism  are  di- 
rect contrasts  in  the  effects  which  accompanied 
them.  The  rite  administered  by  John  was  a 
mere  immersion  in  water,  unaccompanied  with 
the  effusion  of  the  Spirit,  except  in  the  instance 
of  the  baptism  of  Jesus,  and  even  that  differed 
from  the  miraculous  gifts  and  graces  which  at- 
tended Christian  baptism  at  the  commencement 
of  the  Christian  dispensation.  John  speaks  some- 
what disparagingly  of  his  own  baptism,  when, 


39 


contemplating  tjie  grandeur  of  Christ's,  he  said : 
"  I  indeed  baptize  you  with  water  unto  repent- 
ance :  but  he  that  cometh  after  me  is  mightier 
than  I,  whose  shoes  I  am  not  worthy  to  bear : 
he  shall  baptize  you  with  the  Holy  Ghost,  and 
with  fire."  St.  Chrysostom  here  observes  of 
John  :  "  Having  agitated  their  minds  with  the 
fear  of  future  judgment,  and  the  mention  of  the 
axe,  and  the  rejection  of  their  ancestors,  and  the 
substitution  of  a  new  race,  together  with  the 
double  menace  of  excision  and  burning,  and  by 
all  these  means  softened  their  obduracy,  and  dis- 
posed them  to  a  desire  of  deliverance  from  these 
evils,  he  then  introduces  the  mention  of  Christ, 
not  in  a  simple  manner,  but  with  much  eleva- 
tion :  in  exhibiting  his  own  disparity,  lest  he 
should  appear  to  be  using  the  language  of  com- 
pliment, he  commences  by  stating  a  comparison 
betwixt  the  benefits  bestowed  by  each.  For  he 
did  not  immediately  say,  '  I  am  not  worthy  to 
unloose  thelatchet  of  his  shoes;'  but,  having 
first  stated  the  insignificance  of  his  own  bap- 
tism, and  showed  that  it  had  no  effect  beyond 
bringing  them  to  repentance  (for  he  did  not 
style  it  the  water  of  remission,  but  of  repent- 
ance), he  proceeds  to  the  baptism  ordained  oy 


40  CHRISTIAN    ORDINANCES. 

Christ,  which  was  replete  with  aji  ineffable  gift" 
(Homily  XL,  on  Matthew). 

John  did  not  receive  his  commission  to  bap- 
tize from  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  but  from  the 
Father,  and  he  makes  the  marked  distinction  in 
the  persons  of  the  Trinity,  that  it  might  be  un- 
questionably clear.  "We  ask,  can  that  be  a  Chris- 
tian institution  which  is  declared  to  be  received, 
not  from  Christ,  but  from  the  Father  ?  And,  be- 
ing so  plainly  stated  by  John,  does  it  not  seem 
something  like  arrogance  to  profess  to  know 
more  about  the  prophet's  commission  than  he 
knew  of  it  himself,  and  to  contradict  every  state- 
ment which  John  has  made  concerning  this  sub- 
ject? We  may  ask  such  to  what  oracle  they 
have  been  for  their  wisdom  to  venture  upon  a 
contradiction  of  such  a  plain  statement  as  this : 
"  I  knew  him  not,  but  he  that  sent  me  to  bap- 
tize with  water,  the  same  said  unto  me,  '  Upon 
whom  thou  shalt  see  the  Spirit  descending,  and 
remaining  on  him,  the  same  is  he  whicli  bapti- 
zeth  with  the  Holy  Ghost.'  "  Could  it  be  a  Chris- 
tian ordinance,  which  was  for  some  time  prac- 
tised before  Christ  was  made  known  to  John  ?  or 
could  that  be  a  Christian  ordinance  not  founded 
on  Christ's  authority,  and  whicli  in  one  particu- 


41 


lar  was  designed  to  make  him  manifest  %  It  is 
truly  absurd  so  to  reason. 

John's  baptism  was  unto  repentance,  and  his 
message  was,  "  Prepare  ye  the  way  of  the  Lord." 
He  demanded  of  the  people  reformation,  as  a 
preparation  for  the  approaching  kingdom  of 
heaven  ;  in  other  words,  for  the  coming  Messiah. 
But  the  baptism  commanded  by  Christ  was  with 
the  acknowledged  faith  in  his  appearance,  and 
not  only  so,  but  in  the  belief  of  his  death  and 
resurrection.  There  was  no  baptizing  into  the 
name  of  the  Trinity  of  persons  in  the  Godhead 
by  John,  nor  into  any  one  of  the  names  of  Deity, 
but  simply  into  a  state  of  repentance.  The  bap- 
tism administered  as  Christian  necessarily  bears 
the  name  of  Christ,  and  that  in  connection  with 
the  Father  and  the  Holy  Spirit. 

The  baptism  of  John  was  confined  to  the  Jew- 
ish people,  and  those  who  might  have  been  pros- 
elytes to  the  Jewish  religion :  but  not  so  the 
Christian  — that  was  for  all  nations  ;  and  in  the 
commission  of  Jesus  it  is  emphatically  laid  clown 
that,  contrary  to  all  the  restrictions  which  had 
gone  before,  they  were  to  preach  the  gospel  to 
every  creature,  and  baptize  all  nations  as  they 
taught  them  the  truths  of  Christianity. 


42  CHRISTIAN   ORDINANCES. 

John's  baptism  was  no  proselyting  or  initia- 
ting ordinance  to  the  Christian  dispensation.  It 
was  an  external  purification  for  an  acknowl- 
edged religious  people,  who  were  not  required 
to  relinquish  their  former  religious  notions,  and 
adopt  a  new  system  of  worship,  but  to  return  to 
the  purity  of  that  which  they  had  forsaken,  to 
hold  fast  what  they  had  received,  and  to  look 
for  a  yet  greater  mercy,  in  the  speedy  advent 
of  the  long-promised  Messiah.  He  who  should 
lead  them  on  from  Judaism  to  Christianity,  or 
otherwise,  what  could  be  meant  when  it  was 
said  of  John,  that  "  he  should  turn  the  hearts 
of  the  fathers  to  the  children,  and  the  disobedi- 
ent to  the  wisdom  of  the  just  ?"  Surely  nothing 
but  that  a  restoration  of  the  spirit  of  religious 
worship  which  was  in  the  patriarchs  should  be 
revived,  and  that  the  children  should  be  con- 
verted to  pure  Judaism  by  John,  in  the  true 
spirit  of  Elias,  who  recovered  through  his  min- 
istry the  people  from  idolatry  to  worship  the 
true  and  living  God,  according  to  the  institu- 
tions of  Moses. 

John's  baptism  was  not  Christian,  or  there 
never  would  have  been  the  rebaptizing  of  his 
disciples.     Some  have  attempted  to  pervert  the 


43 


sense  of  as  plain  and  simple  a  sentence  of  com- 
mon language  as  could  have  been  possibly  writ- 
ten, where  it  is  recorded,  in  Acts  19th,  that 
twelve  of  John's  disciples  were  commanded  by 
Paul  to  be  baptized  in  the  name  of  Jesus.  Doubt- 
less there  were  hundreds  like  the  disciples  at 
Ephesus  who  had  been  baptized  by  John,  among 
the  thousands  of  the  first  converts  to  Christian- 
ity, who  were  rebaptized  in  the  name  of  Jesus. 
These  are  but  cursory  remarks  upon  some  of 
the  things  which  give  prominent  distinction  to 
the  baptism  of  John,  as  being  in  no  way  con- 
nected with  the  Christian  dispensation.  It  is 
difficult,  in  so  short  a  space,  to  bring  before  the 
mind  a  subject  so  replete  with  decisive  evidence 
in  favor  of  John  being  a  Jewish  prophet,  exer- 
cising his  ministerial  commission  under  the  Jew- 
ish dispensation.  But  in  so  brief  a  review  there 
may  be  some  things  convincing  to  many ;  and 
should  they  lead  only  to  a  prayerful  and  dispas- 
sionate investigation,  the  end  must  be  attained 
which  is  here  sought — viz.,  the  disabuse  of 
many  minds  long  held  in  error  in  reference  to 
an  institution  which  in  itself  points  out  its  true 
and  proper  nature. 


4A  CHRISTIAN    ORDINANCES. 


SECTION   VIII. THE   PEEIOD   WHEN   THE   CHRISTIAN 

DISPENSATION   SUPERSEDED   THE   JEWISH. 

There  is  another  feature  of  importance  per- 
haps connected  with  the  subject  of  John's  bap- 
tism that  must  not  be  lost  sight  of  in  this  place. 
An  inquiry  will  naturally  arise  concerning  the 
period  of  the  commencement  of  the  Christian 
dispensation,  if  it  did  not  begin  with  the  life  of 
John  or  Christ.  Chronologists  have  fixed  the 
commencement  of  the  Christian  era  about  the 
third  or  fourth  year  after  the  advent  of  our  Lord, 
but  an  e230ch  of  time  so  fixed  by  men  is  no  guide 
in  determining  a  period  for  the  commencement 
of  a  dispensation  of  a  religious  order.  There 
have  been  conflicting  opinions  upon  this  partic- 
ular. Some  have  considered  that  the  Christian 
dispensation  commenced  with  the  birth  of  Christ, 
others  with  the  ministry  of  John  ;  some,  again, 
with  the  ministry  of  Christ ;  others  with  the  death 
of  Christ,  the  resurrection  of  Christ,  the  time 
when  lie  gave  commission  to  the  apostles  and  dis- 
ciples ;  and,  again,  his  ascension,  and  the  day  of 
pentecost.  With  all  these  points  of  time  before 
the  mind,  not  a  few  have  come  to  the  conclu- 


45 


sion  that  it  is  difficult  to  determine  when  the 
Christian  dispensation  may  be  truly  said  to  have 
had  its  commencement. 

It  ought  to  be  determined  so  far,  that  the 
Christian  dispensation  could  not  have  had  a 
commencement  before  the  crucifixion  of  Christ, 
or  the  passover  which  was  prepared  for  him  to 
celebrate  immediately  before  his  death.  The 
reason  for  such  a  conclusion  arises  from  the  con- 
sideration that  there  must  be  a  perfect  harmony 
in  the  economy  of  religion,  so  that  two  different 
dispensations  could  never  be  in  force  at  the  same 
time.  Judaism  and  Christianity  could  not  ex- 
ist together :  the  one  must  cease  at  the  com- 
mencement of  the  other.  The  instant  the  Jew- 
ish dispensation  was  abolished,  the  Christian 
one  began :  and  can  we,  then,  find  a  more  defi- 
nite period  for  this  than  when  Christ  exclaimed 
upon  the  cross,  "It  is  finished"  and  then  ex- 
pired ? 

Jesus  was  made  under  the  law  not  only  the 
moral  but  the  ceremonial  law,  and  was  the  end 
of  both  for  righteousness  to  every  one  that  be- 
lieveth.  He  fulfilled  the  moral  law  for  his  peo- 
ple ;  and,  as  to  the  ceremonial,  it  was  necessary 
that  all  things  should  have  their  accomplish- 


46  CHRISTIAN    ORDINANCES. 

rnent  in  Mm,  as  well  as  that  in  religious  wor- 
ship he  should  observe  all  the  institutions  of 
Heaven.  That  the  Christian  dispensation  could 
not  be  in  existence  while  Christ  lived  is  certain, 
inasmuch  as  the  people  could  not  yield  obedi- 
ence to  both  it  and  the  Jewish  dispensation.  If 
Christianity  existed  in  the  lifetime  of  Christ,  we 
should  now  be  fully  justified  in  observing  all 
the  Jewish  rites  and  ceremonies,  and  should  be 
transgressors  of  the  law  of  God  if  we  did  not, 
for  Jesus  observed  them,  with  his  disciples,  as 
obligatory.  He  kept  the  Jewish  feasts  to  the 
end,  and,  with  special  regard  to  the  feast  of  the 
passover,  he  sent  his  disciples  to  make  ready 
for  its  due  observance.  That  the  Jewish  dis- 
pensation was  in  existence  when  he  specially 
commanded  the  preparation  for  observing  one 
of  its  feasts  must  be  admitted,  or  we  throw  the 
economy  of  Heaven  into  confused  and  conflict- 
ing elements  by  making  two  dispensations  to 
exist  at  the  same  time. 

There  was  no  Christian  dispensation  in  exist- 
ence while  as  yet  the  law  or  any  part  of  it  re- 
mained unfulfilled  by  Christ,  or  while  the  things 
in  the  law  concerning  him  had  not  as  yet  had 
their  end.     When  Christ  gave  permission  to 


47 


Judas  to  go  and  complete  his  traitorous  designs, 
lie  had  finished  for  ever  the  duties  connected 
with  the  institutions  of  the  Jewish  dispensation. 
But  one  thing  remained,  which  was  of  a  passive 
nature  :  it  was  that  he,  the  antitype  of  the  pass- 
over,  should  be  slain,  and  suffer  the  ignomini- 
ous death  of  the  cross,  upon  which,  in  death,  he 
declared,  "  It  is  finished." 

Here,  then,  virtually,  the  Jewish  dispensation 
had  an  end  ;  and,  if  there  could  have  been  any 
period  in  which  for  a  moment  it  could  be  sup- 
posed that  the  Jewish  dispensation  was  abol- 
ished, and  the  Christian  one  not  in  existence,  it 
must  have  been  on  the  Jewish  sabbath  when 
Jesus  rested  in  the  tomb,  though  doubtless  in 
paradise  the  Spirit  of  Jesus  was  proclaiming  the 
victories  of  his  cross,  and  declaring  among  the 
congregation  of  the  spirits  of  just  men  made 
perfect  that  the  kingdom  of  heaven  had  com- 
menced among  men. 

The  morn  of  his  resurrection  was  a  hallowed 
period :  the  Sun  of  Righteousness  had  risen  ere 
the  sun  of  nature  had  enlightened  the  horizon 
of  the  tomb.  Jesus  left  the  grave  to  take  to 
himself  his  dominion  —  his  both  by  conquest 
and  gift — and  to  declare,  "  All  power  is  given 


48  CHRISTIAN    ORDINANCES. 

unto  me  in  heaven  and  in  earth."  The  Chris- 
tian dispensation  is  a  sabbatism  of  which  the 
Jewish  sabbath  was  typical ;  so  that,  now,  "  he 
that  believeth  hath  entered  into  rest."  The  res- 
urrection day  of  our  Lord  openly  made  it  mani- 
fest that  the  Christian  sabbath  or  dispensation 
had  commenced,  and  we  specially  honor  the  first 
day  of  the  week  in  religious  worship,  and  so 
perpetuate  the  glorious  remembrance  of  the 
commencement  of  the  kingdom  of  Christ  among 
men. 

SECT.  IX. THE  BAPTISM  ADMINISTERED  BY  CHRIST'S 

DISCIPLES   BEFORE   THE   DAY    OF   PENTECOST. 

Let  us  suppose  one  other  inquiry  started  con- 
cerning the  determination  of  John's  ministry 
and  baptism,  and  it  is  perhaps  the  only  remain- 
ing one  that  can  possibly  be  mooted :  it  bears 
upon  the  baptism  administered  by  the  disciples 
of  our  Lord  Jesus  during  his  life  on  earth.  It 
may  be  said  that,  'if  John's  baptism  was  not 
Christian  baptism,  what  was  that  which  these 
disciples  practised,  and  which  aroused  the  jeal- 
ousy of  John's  disciples,  when  they  saw  more 
converts  made  to  Jesus  than  to  John  ?  and  if 


49 


John  did  not  baptize  in  the  name  of  Jesus,  is  it 
not  reasonable  to  suppose  that  they  did  who 
made  converts  to  Christ  ?  If  the  baptism  prac- 
tised by  these  disciples  was  not  the  same  as 
John's  baptism,  was  it  not  manifest  that  they 
administered  the  Christian  ordinance  V 

Turn  to  the  conduct  of  the  apostles  and  disci- 
ples whom  our  Lord  sent  out,  to  seek  the  solu- 
tion of  this  matter.  We  read  the  commission 
given  to  the  apostles  in  Matt.  10  :  5-8  :  "  These 
twelve  Jesus  sent  forth,  and  commanded  them, 
saying :  '  Go  not  into  the  way  of  the  Gentiles, 
and  into  any  city  of  the  Samaritans  enter  ye 
not :  but  go  rather  to  the  lost  sheep  of  the  house 
of  Israel.  And  as  ye  go,  preach,  saying,  "  The 
kingdom  of  heaven  is  at  hand."  Heal  the  sick, 
cleanse  the  lepers,  raise  the  dead,  cast  out  dev- 
ils,'" &c.  In  Luke  10:  1,  we  read:  "After 
these  things  the  Lord  appointed  other  seventy 
also,  and  sent  them  two  and  two  before  his  face 
into  every  city  and  place,  whither  he  himself 
would  come,"  &c.  We  find  the  commission  de- 
livered to  them  is  to  the  same  effect  as  that  de- 
livered to  the  twelve,  and  in  nearly  the  same 
words,  embracing  the  same  particulars  in  refer- 
ence to  their  own  conduct ;  and  as  they  wrought 


50  CHRISTIAN    ORDINANCES. 

miracles  upon  the  people,  they  were  to  say, 
"  The  kingdom  of  God  is  come  nigh  unto  you." 

Here  it  is  evident  that  the  disciples  had  from 
the  lips  of  the  Saviour  the  very  preaching  which 
John  had  from  heaven,  as  to  the  announcement 
of  the  approach  of  the  kingdom  of  heaven. 
They  had  no  command  to  baptize,  and  it  is  cer- 
tain that  they  could  not  have  baptized  in  the 
name  of  Jesus,  as  he  had  not  enjoined  it.  The 
import  of  their  mission  was,  that  as  yet  he  had 
not  appeared  to  set  up  his  kingdom — his  dis- 
pensation had  not  begun.  They  had  the  same 
ministry  intrusted  to  them  by  Jesus  as  was  given 
to  John  from  heaven :  thus  the  Saviour  avoided 
anything  like  collision.  The  disciples  preached 
and  practised  as  did  John  :  they  preached,  "  The 
kingdom  of  heaven  is  at  hand,"  and  baptized 
into  the  faith  of  that  approaching  kingdom. 

But  it  may  be  asked :  '  Upon  what  ground, 
then,  could  there  be  anything  like  jealousy  ari- 
sing in  the  minds  of  John's  disciples  about  these 
disciples  of  Jesus  ?  and  upon  what  ground  could 
they  regard  the  distinction  between  their  bap- 
tism and  that  of  John  V  The  whole  distinction 
lies  here,  and  the  ground  which  excited  jealousy 
is  evidently  to  be  traced  to  this  one  circum- 


51 


stance :  John  did  no  miracle,  but  these  disci- 
ples were  empowered  to  work  miracles  as  well 
as  preach ;  so  that  a  greater  multitude  were  at- 
tracted to  them,  and  were  baptized  by  them  — 
which  led  the  disciples  of  John  to  complain  to 
him  of  the  fact. 

We  have  now  touched  upon  every  necessary 
topic  to  illustrate  the  nature  of  John's  baptism, 
and  to  prove  that  the  ordinance  of  Christian 
baptism  had  no  existence  in  the  lifetime  of 
John,  or  prior  to  the  day  of  pentecost,  though 
the-  commission  was  delivered  to  the  apostles 
before  the  ascension  of  Christ.  But  apart  from 
any  attempt  to  make  plain  that  which  should 
be  considered  self-evident,  one  question  alone 
is  sufficient  to  overthrow  all  the  useless  argu- 
ments of  those  who  wish  to  claim  for  John's 
baptism,  or  the  baptism  practised  by  the  disci- 
ples of  Christ  during  his  life  upon  earth,  the 
title  of  Christian  baptism :  l  How  can  an  insti- 
tute of  a  kingdom  be  in  existence  before  the 
kingdom  itself  is  set  up  ?  or  what  can  be  more 
certain  than  that  a  kingdom  at  hand  is  not  as 
yet  a  kingdom  V 

We  conceive  that,  to  every  candid  inquirer 
after  truth,  it  must  be  manifest  that  there  is  no 


52  CHRISTIAN    ORDINANCES. 

room  for  even  the  shadow  of  conjecture,  to  sup- 
pose that  John's  baptism  was  a  Christian  ordi- 
nance. It  follows,  therefore,  of  necessity,  that 
it  was  not  the  Christian  ordinance  administered 
to  Christ,  but  decidedly  a  rite  instituted  for  ob- 
servance under  the  Jewish  dispensation,  and 
abrogated  by  the  law  of  the  kingdom  of  Christ, 
when  Christian  baj:>tism.  was  enjoined. 

Here  the  first  stronghold  of  baptists  in  sup- 
port of  their  rigorous  practice  of  restricted  com- 
munion is  demolished.  The  platform  of  the 
great  oracle,  Abraham  Booth,  is  swept  away. 
Good  and  gracious  as  he  was,  his  weakness  and 
erroneous  views  on  this  point  are  but  too  mani- 
fest ;  and  multitudes  of  baptists,  in  the  exercise 
of  judgment  and  candor,  if  they  will  suffer  Truth 
to  lift  up  her  voice,  will  be  ready  to  exclaim,  in 
consternation  and  surprise,  '  Where  are  we  V 
The  answer  must  be  —  'Just  where  you  have 
suffered  yourselves  to  be  carried  by  partisans ; 
and  the  sooner  you  make  your  retreat,  and  turn 
to  the  word  and  testimony  of  Eternal  Truth  as 
a  guide,  the  better  for  your  peace  of  conscience, 
and  prosperity  of  soul  before  God.' 


PART   II. 


CHRISTIAN   BAPTISM, 


SECTION   I. THE   CIRCUMSTANCES  CONNECTED  WITH 

ITS    INSTITUTION. 

Christian  baptism  will  now  come  under  con- 
sideration, as  a  positive  institute  of  the  dispen- 
sation under  which  we  live,  and  be  reviewed  in 
its  particular  bearings  in  relation  to  the  disci- 
ples of  Jesus. 

In  treating  of  John's  baptism  we  have  re- 
moved the  Christian  ordinance  from  any  con- 
nection with  it,  and  made  it  sufficiently  clear 
that,  prior  to  the  death  of  Christ  on  Calvary's 
cross,  Christian  baptism  had  no  existence.  It 
is,  therefore,  open  now  for  calm  investigation, 
disencumbered  from  other  institutions,  and  fair- 
ly separated  from  the  confusion  into  which  it 


54:  CHRISTIAN    ORDINANCES. 

has  been  too  often  cast  by  introducing  it  with 
the  history  of  events  immediately  preceding  the 
Christian  dispensation. 

Jesus  Christ  lived,  suffered,  and  died  in  our 
world,  in  the  fulfilment  of  a  commission,  which 
he  received  from  the  Father.  As  the  servant 
of  the  covenant  of  grace,  he  was  ready  to  de- 
clare that  it  was  his  meat  and  his  drink  to  do 
the  will  of  Him  that  sent  him,  and  to  finish  his 
work.  But  in  all  that  Jesus  did  and  suffered, 
he  had  his  mind  onward  to  the  full  recompense 
of  reward.  A  kingdom  was  promised  him  by 
the  Father,  which  he  was  to  inherit  by  gift  and 
by  conquest.  It  is  certain  this  was  in  some  par- 
ticulars the  animating  prospect  to  which  the 
prophet  refers  :  "He  shall  see  of  the  travail  of 
his  soul,  and  shall  be  satisfied"  (Isaiah  53 :  11) ; 
and  is  what  Paul  speaks  of  when  writing  about 
the  sufferings  of  Christ  as  the  Christian's  pat- 
tern :  "  Who,  for  the  joy  that  was  set  before 
him,  endured  the  cross,  despising  the  shame, 
and  is  set  down  at  the  right  hand  of  the  throne 
of  God"  (Hebrews  12  :  2).  With  such  like  pros- 
pects Jesus  addressed  these  inspiring  words  to 
his  apostles :  "  Ye  are  they  which  have  contin- 
ued with  me  in  my  temptations.     And  I  appoint 


CHRISTIAN   BAPTISM.  55 

unto  you  a  kingdom,  as  my  Father  hath  appoint- 
ed unto  me ;  that  ye  may  eat  and  drink  at  my 
table  in  my  kingdom,  and  sit  on  thrones  judging 
the  twelve  tribes  of  Israel"  (Luke  22 :  28-30). 

By  the  power  of  God  the  Father,  Jesus  was 
raised  from  the  dead,  to  receive  the  kingdom  ; 
in  anticipation  of  which,  he  was  the  surety  of 
the  covenant  to  bleed  and  to  die.  The  resurrec- 
tion of  Jesus  was  the  seal  of  his  finished  work, 
and  the  basis  of  the  Christian's  hope.  When  he 
came  forth  from  the  chambers  of  the  dead,  he 
rose  in  the  triumphs  of  a  mighty  victor,  in- 
vested with  authority,  as  King  of  kings  and 
Lord  of  lords.  Now  his  kingdom  begins,  and 
he  declares,  "All  power  is  given  unto  me  in 
heaven  and  in  earth"  No  longer  as  a  servant, 
but  as  a  prince  —  now  the  dispensation  of  the 
kingdom  of  his  grace  commences. 

The  proclamation  of  the  commencement  of 
any  government,  under  which  a  community  at 
large  is  to  be  fostered,  displaying  every  concern 
for  liberty,  prosperity,  and  happiness,  will  be 
ever  after  regarded  with  feelings  of  interest  and 
delight,  particularly  if  that  which  had  preceded 
it,  in  the  history  of  the  people,  had  been  of  an 
oppressive,  fearful,  and  debasing  nature.     The 


56  CHRISTIAN   ORDINANCES. 

movements  which  advanced  the  people  from 
degradation  to  glory,  from  bondage  to  liberty, 
from  misery  to  happiness,  could  not  fail  to  pro- 
duce sensations  of  delight;  the  events  could  not 
be  buried  in  oblivion,  nor  the  benefactors  re- 
garded with  other  than  cherished  feelings  of 
reverence  and  love. 

But  no  -advantage  in  a  nation's  history  will 
bear  the  slightest  comparison  with  the  benefits 
effected  by  Christ  in  his  death  for  his  peoj^le, 
and  the  blessings  which  were  brought  to  them 
when  the  kingdom  and  dispensation  of  his  grace 
commenced.  Surely,  then,  the  resurrection  of 
Jesus  from  the  dead  marks  the  period  of  the 
commencement  of  so  blessed  a  government  as 
the  reign  of  his  grace.  Christians  should  look 
back  to  this  event,  and  glorify  God  for  it,  and 
for  so  many  infinitely  blessed  things  made  sure 
to  them  by  it. 

The  kingdom  being  now  virtually  taken,  the 
Lord  proclaims  to  his  disciples  the  power  and 
authority  with  which  he  is  invested,  and  issues 
his  great  commission  to  his  servants,  saying: 
"  Go  ye,  therefore,  and  teach  all  nations,  bapti- 
zing them  in  the  name  of  the  Father,  and  of  the 
Son,  and  of  the  Holy  Ghost :  teaching  them  to 


CHRISTIAN    BAPTISM.  57 

observe  all  things  whatsoever  I  have  command- 
ed you  :  and  lo,  I  am  with  you  alway,  even  unto 
the  end  of  the  world"  (Matthew  28 :  19,  20). 

Nothing  remained  but  for  them  to  be  invest- 
ed with  the  power  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  for  the 
discharge  of  this  important  and  blessed  commis- 
sion. The  Saviour,  therefore,  said  unto  them : 
"  Behold,  I  send  the  promise  of  my  Father  upon 
you:  but  tarry  ye  in  the  city  of  Jerusalem,  un- 
til ye  be  endued  with  power  from  on  high" 
(Luke  24  :  49).  Invested  with  such  power,  they 
were  to  go  forth  in  the  discharge  of  the  minis- 
try with  which  they  had  been  so  solemnly  in- 
trusted. 

Jesus  makes  his  departure  from  this  world 
from  the  mount  of  Olives.  In  the  presence  of 
his  assembled  apostles  he  ascends  up  to  heaven, 
and  a  cloud  receives  him  out  of  their  sight.  He 
enters  the  heaven  of  heavens  as  the  King  of 
glory,  the  Lord  God,  mighty  in  battle  ;  acknowl- 
edged so  by  the  myriads  who  inhabit  the  skies. 
He  takes  his  seat  on  the  throne  of  glory,  at  the 
Father's  right  hand  (which  position  he  continues 
to  occupy)  in  the  midst  of  the  throne.  There 
he  receives  gifts  for  men,  even  the  rebellious 
also,  that  the  Lord  God  might  dwell  among 

3* 


58  CHRISTIAN    ORDINANCES. 

them.  The  Holy  Spirit,  sent  by  Jesus,  now  de- 
scends, in  confirmation  of  his  parting  promise ; 
and  the  wondrous  benefits  of  his  rich  and  heav- 
enly gifts  on  the  day  of  pentecost  have  often 
been  considered  by  us  with  admiring  interest. 

Under  the  mighty  influences  of  the  Holy  Spir- 
it, the  apostles  and  disciples  of  Jesus  are  now 
made  a  spiritually-armed  force  in  the  kingdom 
of  their  Saviour.  They  preached,  baptized,  and 
wrought  miracles  before,  but  it  was  in  anticipa- 
tion of  the  coming  kingdom  —  it  was  to  prepare 
the  people  for  this  great  event — it  was  while  as 
yet  their  Lord  was  in  humiliation  and  suffering 
—  when  he  was  a  servant,  and  had  not  died,  nor 
abrogated  the  Jewish  institutions :  but  now  they 
were  abolished,  the  old  tilings  of  the  ceremonial 
law  had  vanished  away,  and  the  dispensation  of 
the  Spirit  and  power  had  come.  The  legal  dis- 
pensation, from  which  they  had  just  merged, 
had  no  glory,  by  reason  of  that  which  excelled. 

Truly,  the  apostles  and  disciples  did  not  know 
for  themselves  the  full  blessings  of  the  dispen- 
sation into  which  they  were  now  so  gloriously 
conducted.  From  their  long-cherished  rites  of 
Judaism,  they  seemed  but  little  prepared  (not- 
withstanding the  exalted  notions  they  had  of 


CHRISTIAN    BAPTISM.  59 

the  blessings  of  the  kingdom  of  heaven)  to  em- 
brace so  much  freedom  as  that  which  was  se- 
cured to  them  by  their  Lord  and  King.  There- 
fore, though,  the  Jewish  dispensation  had  virtu- 
ally seen  an  end,  and  its  institutions  been  an- 
nulled, they  could  not  so  suddenly  yield  up  all, 
and  declare  themselves  free.  They  laid  hold 
with  a  tenacious  grasp  of  some  of  their  most 
approved  ceremonials,  and  clung  fast  to  their 
national  prejudices;  but  by  degrees  they  re- 
laxed their  hold,  and  yielded  up,  one  by  one, 
till  at  last,  by  the  increased  light  they  enjoyed 
under  the  influence  and  teaching  of  the  Holy 
Spirit,  they  gloried  in  declaring  themselves  free, 
and  in  uttering  their  strong  conviction  that  old 
things  had  passed  away,  and  all  things  had  be- 
come new. 

SECTION    II. THE    INTERIM    BEFORE    ITS    ADMINIS- 
TRATION. 

The  Christian  dispensation  was  specially  de- 
signed to  be  the  dispensation  of  the  Spirit  and 
power ;  therefore,  though  proclaimed  by  Jesus 
immediately  after  his  resurrection,  nothing  was 
done  for  its  promulgation  among  men  till  the 


60  CHRISTIAN    ORDINANCES. 

descent  of  the  Holy  Spirit.  Jesus  abode  forty 
days  with  his  disciples,  instructing  them  in  things 
pertaining  to  his  kingdom  ;  and,  after  delivering 
to  them  all  his  gracious  commands,  he  left  them 
with  this  injunction,  that  they  should  do  noth- 
ing in  his  kingdom  till  the  Spirit,  in  his  ruling 
power,  took  up  his  abode  among  fhem.  "  Wait," 
said  he,  "  for  the  promise  of  the  Father,  which 
ye  liave  heard  of  me.  For  John  truly  baptized 
with  water ;  but  ye  shall  be  baptized  with  the 
Holy  Ghost  not  many  days  hence."  This  latter 
sentence  intimated  that  John  had  gone  before 
with  water-baptism,  proclaiming  the  near  ap- 
proach of  the  kingdom  of  heaven,  but  that  they 
should  be  baptized  with  the  Holy  Ghost,  in  con- 
firmation that  the  kingdom  was  in  actual  exist- 
ence, that  it  was  now  set  up  among  men,  and 
that  the  Spirit  was  the  ruling  and  governing 
power  presiding  therein. 

"When  the  Saviour  ascended  to  heaven,  the 
apostles  returned  to  Jerusalem,  in  obedience  to 
his  last  command,  to  wait  for  the  promised  bles- 
sing of  the  Spirit,  that,  under  the  power  be- 
stowed on  them,  they  might  enter  upon  the 
public  duties  of  the  ministry  of  the  kingdom. 
But  in  the  interim  they  must  needs  be  doing 


CHRISTIAN   BAPTISM.  61 

something ;  had  it  been  only  that  they  continued 
with  one  accord  in  prayer  and  supplication, 
which  we  read  they  were  engaged  in,  they 
would  have  well  done,  for  this  was  the  proper 
posture  of  waiting  for  the  descent  of  the  Spirit ; 
but  they  must  needs  set  to  work  about  some- 
thing :  and  as  the  number  of  the  twelve  apostles 
was  lacking  one,  by  the  awful  apostacy  and  end 
of  Judas,  they  were  for  making  their  original 
number  up,  hefore  the  coming  of  the  Spirit  into 
the  kingdom.  With  much  solemnity  and  prayer 
they  sought  the  Lord  to  decide,  through  their 
ballot,  the  man  whom  he  would  approve  of  to 
occupy  that  vacancy.  The  lot  fell  on  Matthias, 
who  apparently  was  a  godly  man,  and  in  every 
way  qualified  to  occupy  the  important  post. 

But  this  act  of  the  apostles  in  filling  up  their 
number  never  appears  to  have  been  ratified  in 
heaven.  Though  they  were  unquestionably  sin- 
cere in  what  they  did,  they  should,  notwithstand- 
ing, have  rather  observed  the  strict  letter  of  the 
command,  "  Wait;"  for  Jesus  had  an  apostle  in 
reserve  whom  they  knew  not  of — one  whom  he 
would  reveal  in  his  own  time  and  pleasure  — 
one  whom  he  intended  should  be,  as  the  apostle 
expresses  it,  "  born  out  of  due  time."    The  Lord 


62  CHRISTIAN    ORDINANCES. 

himself  in  his  glory  came  from  heaven  to  arrest 
Saul  of  Tarsus,  that  he  might  see  Jesus,  be  the 
witness  of  his  invested  glory,  and  an  apostle 
specially  sent  to  the  Gentiles. 

These  particular  circumstances  are  entitled  to 
grave  consideration.  They  impress  us  with  the 
fact  of  the  entire  suspension  of  all  operation,  in 
the  newly -proclaimed  kingdom  of  heaven,  until 
the  day  of  pentecost.  Christ  would  have  noth- 
ing publicly  done  from  the  time  of  his  resurrec- 
tion until  the  descent  of  the  Spirit ;  only  among 
themselves,  as  disciples,  their  religious  worship 
and  service  were  acceptable  to  him.  The  Spirit's 
presence  and  power  was  to  give  sanction  and 
validity  to  their  ministry  in  preaching  and  bap- 
tizing, and  in  discharging  all  the  duties  which 
Christ  had  commanded  them.  The  power  and 
dominion  given  to  Jesus  upon  his  resurrection 
was  the  kingdom  of  -heaven  among  men,  but 
then  it  wanted  the  presiding  power  to  give  va- 
lidity to  its  sanctions ;  it  was  a  thing  formed, 
but  wanted  animus. 

Here  it  will  be  seen  that  baptism  as  an  insti- 
tution of  this  new  dispensation  could  not  have 
been  administered  from  the  time  of  the  resur- 
rection of  Christ  down  to  the  pentecostal  effu- 


CHRISTIAN    BAPTISM.  63 

sion  of  the  Spirit,  though  expressly  commanded 
by  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  much  less  could  it 
have  been  practised  before  Christ  abolished  the 
Jewish  ceremonials,  and  laid  in  the  tomb  with 
his  own  body  their  rites  and  their  dispensation. 
Away,  then,  and  for  ever,  wTith  unfounded  no- 
tions for  which  the  Scriptures  find  no  place ! 

The  expediency  of  Christ's  departure,  and  the 
necessity  for*  the  descent  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  will 
bear  no  other  definite  interpretation  but  that 
the  dispensation  of  Christ  would  remain  station- 
ary till  the  Spirit  set  it  in  motion.  The  letter 
is  nothing,  the  word  is  nothing,  the  law  is  noth- 
ing :  it  is  the  Spirit  that  giveth  life  to  the  Chris- 
tian dispensation.  Look,  then,  to  the  effect  of 
.his  descent :  what  a  mighty  revolution !  "When 
the  world  first  began  to  move  upon  its  axis,  in 
the  performance  of  its  own  revolution  and  its 
revolution  in  its  orbit  around  the  sun,  the  cen- 
tre of  its  gravity,  there  was  displayed  the  effect 
of  the  application  of  the  will  of  the  mighty  Cre- 
ator: this  mainspring  of  action,  as  with  the 
touch  of  the  finger,  led  off  into  infinite  space 
inert  matter  with  all  its  relative  movements. 
So,  when  the  Holy  Spirit  came  forth  into  the 
Christian  dispensation,  Tie  gave  that  power  which 


64  CHRISTIAN    ORDINANCES. 

invested  its  laws  and  institutions  with  validity ; 
and  their  effects,  through  the  instrumentality 
of  the  apostles  and  disciples  of  Christ,  were 
seen  immediately — by  his  almighty,  life-giving 
touch,  the  whole  was  put  into  operation  on  that 
memorable  period  of  his  descent  with  gifts  and 
graces  from  the  glorified  Saviour.  Henceforth, 
around  the  ascended  "  Sun  of  Righteousness," 
the  dispensation  of  the  grace  of  God,  and  the 
kingdom  of  Christ  among  men,  is  seen  revolving 
—  he  the  true  centre  of  gravity. 

SECTION  III. THE  CHARACTER  AND  EFFECTS  OF  THE 


The  apostles  opened  their  commission,  and 
began  to  preach  the  gospel  of  the  kingdom  in 
various  languages  and  dialects,  as  the  Spirit 
gave  them  utterance.  The  confusion  of  tongues 
formed  no  barrier  to  their  understanding  what 
was  going  forward ;  every  man  heard  the  as- 
tounding and  animating  mysteries  of  the  king- 
dom in  his  native  language,  and  the  truths  uttered 
found  their  way  to  the  hearts  of  the  audience. 
Oh,  what  a  time  was  that,  when  Peter  addressed 
the  assembly  with  such  heart-stirring  comniuni- 


CHRISTIAN   BAPTISM.  65 

cations !  and  what  an  amazingly  blessed  effect 
was  produced  as  conviction  grappled  with  their 
consciences  !  "  What  shall  we  do  ?"  was  their 
agonizing  and  despairing  cry.  And  the  joyful 
intelligence,  as  with  magnetic  operation,  re- 
turned—  "Repent,  and  be  baptized  every  one 
of  you  in  the  name  of  Jesus  Christ  for  the  re- 
mission of  sins,  and  ye  shall  receive  the  gift  of 
the  Holy  Ghost"  (Acts  2 :  38). 

It  may  here  cross  the  mind  that  there  is  a 
similarity  between  the  preaching  of  Peter  and 
the  ministry  of  John,  particularly  as  the  advo- 
cates for  making  John's  baptism  the  Christian 
ordinance  have  laid  hold  of  this,  and  have  upon 
this  ground  unhesitatingly  affirmed  that  it  con- 
stituted both  baptisms  of  the  same  nature. — 
Though  it  may  appear  to  be  taking  up  what  we 
have  professedly  dispensed  with,  yet  as  it  falls 
in  our  way,  and,  if  unheeded,  might  leave  a 
doubt  upon  the  minds  of  some  that  this  is  one 
particular  not  made  clear  to  them :  for  their 
sakes,  then,  we  say,  in  words  there  is  a  likeness 
of  sound:  repentance,  baptism,  and  remission 
of  sins,  are  the  same  expressions,  but  the  appli- 
cation and  design  of #  their  use  are  often  vastly 
different ;  after  comparing  these  words  and  find- 


66  CHRISTIAN    ORDINANCES. 

ing  them  the  same,  there  is  nothing  else  in  what 
John  and  Peter  said  that  bears  resemblance,  as 
we  shall  see. 

John  calls  for  repentance,  and  fruits  meet 
for  repentance.  Those  fruits  he  describes  as 
charity,  honesty,  humanity,  truthfulness,  and 
contentment.  The  Jews  had  become  a  shame- 
fully-iniquitous people,  and,  though  attending 
to  some  of  the  externals  of  religion,  by  observ- 
ing instituted  rites,  their  hearts  had  departed 
from  the  Lord.  They  were,  therefore,  to  repent 
of  their  conduct,  and  practise  a  legal  reforma- 
tion. But  Peter  charges  his  audience  with  mur- 
der—  the  dreadful  murder  of  the  Son  of  God. 
They  become  convicted  of  the  crime  in  the  court 
of  their  own  consciences,  and  cry  out,  "  What 
shall  we  do  ?"  They  are  enjoined  to  repent,  for 
there  is  the  promise  of  ])ardon  for  this  their  aw- 
ful crime,  if  they  truly  repent  before  God. 

We  see  that  John  baptized  into  a  penitential 
reformation  in  morals,  and  into  the  faith  of  the 
speedy  coming  of  the  Messiah.  But  Peter  com- 
mands baptism  in  the  name  of  Jesus  Christ  as 
the  Saviour  now  come,  to  whom  they  had  dune 
whatsoever  they  pleased,  in  hanging  him  to  a 
tree,  but  who  was  raised  from  the  dead  to  be  a 


CHRISTIAN    BAPTISM.  67 

Prince  and  a  Saviour  to  give  both  repentance 
and  remission  of  sins.  So  that  while  John  bap- 
tized into  a  legal  repentance,  and  the  promise 
of  remission  of  sins  upon  the  ground  of  faith  in 
a  coming  Saviour — just  as  it  was  in  relation  to 
the  Jews  as  far  back  as  Abraham's  days  —  Peter 
spoke  of  the  remission  of  sins  to  those  whom  he 
addressed  upon  their  repentance  and  baptism 
into  the  name  of  Jesus  Christ  —  into  the  faith 
of  the  sacrifice  of  Christ,  and  the  dispensation 
of  the  gospel  of  his  grace ;  the  repentance  and 
faith  both  the  gift  of  Christ,  as  we  read  in  Acts 
5 :  31. 

John  makes  no  allusion  to  the  Spirit,  but  Pe- 
ter declares  that  the  genuine  penitents  shall  re- 
ceive the  gift  of  the  Holy  Ghost.  There  needs 
not  a  word  of  comment  here.  *  The  Scriptures 
will  at  once  discover  that  all  the  likeness  to  be 
found  between  John's  ministry  and  Peter's,  to 
give  the  idea  that  their  baptisms  were  the  same, 
may  be  also  said  of  every  Jewish  institute  in  its 
resemblance  to  the  Christian  dispensation  ;  and 
upon  such  construction  there  would  be  nothing 
Jewish  and  nothing  Christian,  really,  but  a  con- 
fused amalgamation. 

The  conclusion  to  which  the  mind  seems  to 


68  CHRISTIAN    ORDINANCES. 

be  drawn  is  this  :  that  God  in  infinite  mercy  has 
made  the  thing  plain  that  the  Jewish  dispensa- 
tion was  at  an  end  when  his  Son  suffered  upon 
Calvary ;  and  that  the  Christian  dispensation 
had  its  commencement  from  that  time,  and  was 
declared  by  Jesus  when  he  arose  from  the  dead, 
and  testified,  "All  power  is  given  unto  me  in 
heaven  and  in  earth."  It  can  not  be  mistaken, 
when  men  cease  to  search  for  evidence  to  back 
up  their  fostered  notions  of  error,  and  come  with 
sincerity  to  know  what  is  of  God.  And,  more- 
over, it  is  also  as  conclusively  demonstrable, 
that,  until  the  dispensation  was  emphatically  de- 
clared to  be  the  dispensation  of  the  Spirit  by 
his  descent  on  the  day  of  pentecost,  no  institu- 
tions of  the  Christian  dispensation,  though  given 
as  laws  of  the  Kingdom  by  Christ  to  his  apos- 
tles, could  have  been  valid  if  observed  before 
that  time.  It  is  set  forth  in  such  a  manner  as 
to  amount  to  a  certainty,  that,  had  the  apostles 
preached  in  the  interim  of  Christ's  ascension 
and  the  descent  of  the  Spirit,  no  beneficial  re- 
sults would  have  followed ;  and  had  they  bap- 
tized, though  in  the  name  of  their  risen  and 
ascended  Lord,  during  that  interim,  such  bap- 
tism would  have  been  invalid.     They  were  com- 


CHRISTIAN    BAPTISM.  69 

missioned,  but  not  installed  into  the  ministry : 
their  Lord  had  laid  out  to  them  their  duty,  but 
they  were  themselves  unbaptized.  The  rite  of 
Water-baptism  as  a  Christian  institute  they  were 
not  to  receive ;  but,  as  the  administerers  of  it, 
they  were  first  to  be  baptized  with  the  Holy 
Ghost  (the  expression  of- the  Saviour,  "Ye  shall 
be  baptized  with  the  Holy  Ghost  not  many  days 
hence,"  is  remarkable).  If,  therefore,  multitudes 
had  been  baptized  by  the  apostles  before  the  de- 
scent of  the  Holy  Spirit,  Heaven  would  not  have 
stamped  such  baptisms  as  valid,  and  all  would 
doubtless  have  been  rebaptized  after  the  day  of 
pentecost.  The  apostles  and  disciples  invested 
with  the  Spirit  went  forth  preaching  and  bapti- 
zing in  the  discharge  of  their  great  commission. 

SECTION  IV. NATURE  OF  THE  ORDINANCE  OF  BAP- 
TISM. 

Baptism,  as  an  ordinance  of  the  Christian  dis- 
pensation, is  to  be  practised  in  connection  with 
the  preaching  of  the  gospel  till  the  end. 

Words  are  the  signs  of  ideas,  and  carry  for 
the  most  part  the  sense  and  true  signification 
of  what  is  in  the  mind.     "VVe  therefore  look  to 


TO  CHRISTIAN    ORDINANCES. 

the  word  "  baptize"  (baptizo)  as  the  symbol  of 
the  idea  in  the  mind  of  the  great  Lawgiver, 
when  he  said,  "  Go,  teach  all  nations,  baptizing 
them  in  the  name  of  the  Father,  and  of  the  Son, 
and  of  the  Holy  Ghost."  It  is  necessary  also 
that  a  word,  as  a  symbol  of  an  idea,  should  be 
familiar  to  all  engaged  in  colloquy ;  otherwise 
the  individual  speaking,  though  expressing  his 
own  mind,  does  not  convey  his  ideas  to  those 
with  whom  he  converses.  But  words  for  the 
most  part  in  language  are  not  symbols  limited 
to  convey  but  one  idea :  a  word  may  be  the 
sign  of  several  ideas,  and  in  such  cases  its  defi- 
nite signification  must  depend  upon  its  connec- 
tion with  other  words.  The  multiplication  of 
words  serves  to  express  the  conceptions  of  the 
mind,  and  constitutes  the  language  of  a  commu- 
nity or  nation.  In  living  languages,  especially 
in  the  English,  we  find  that,  by  general  consent 
and  usage,  some  words  often  change  their  sig- 
nification, for  they  are  signs  only  of  certain 
ideas  so  long  as  usage  permits,  while  some  be- 
come obsolete. 

The  word  baptize  has  been  made  to  signify 
indiscriminately  to  dip,  plunge,  pour,  or  sj)rin- 
kle  /  but  it  is  referable  to  its  original,  there  we 


CHRISTIAN    BAPTISM.  71 

believe  that  to  baptize  is  not  to  pour,  or  sprin- 
kle, or  to  wash,  in  the  sense  we  understand  to 
wash,  but  to  submerge.  If  the  word  baptizo  had 
been  translated  into  so  variable  a  language  as 
the  English,  the  word  to  express  it  might  have 
been  as  far  removed  from  its  signification  as 
the  word  charity  is,  or  even  farther,  and  not 
have  been  even  traceable  to  the  word  baptizo, 
of  which  it  was  the  translation.  We  see,  from 
present  abuse,  to  what  innovations  an  ordinance 
of  the  Lord  might  be  exposed  by  variable  sig- 
nification of  words. 

The  Greek  bapto  and  baptizo  are  two  forms 
of  the  verb  :  bapto  is  the  primitive,  and  baptizo 
the  derivative.  These  changes  have  been  so 
often  rung  in  the  ears  by  controversialists  as  to 
become  wearisome  sounds ;  therefore  it  is  unne- 
cessary to  dwell  upon  them  here.  It  shall  suf- 
fice to  say  but  little  upon  the  word,  though  by 
the  common  usage  of  the  symbol  at  that  time 
when  used  by  the  Lord,  we  are  definitely  to  un- 
derstand what  ceremony  the  Lawgiver  enjoined 
in  the  institution  of  baptism.  The  primitive 
and  derivative  verbs  generally  agree  in  their 
leading  and  primary  signification ;  but  as  in 
some  cases  meanings  are  taken  up  by  the  one 


72  CHRISTIAN"    ORDINANCES. 

which  may  not  be  by  the  other,  it  would  be 
necessary,  if  entering  fully  upon  the  significa- 
tion of  the  verb,  to  treat  it  only  in  respect  to  its 
derivative  form,  inasmuch  as  the  rite  of  baptism 
is  always  designated  by  baptizo ;  but,  in  both 
primitive  and  derivative  forms,  we  are  satisfied 
it  is  in  favor  of  to  plunge,  to  dip,  to  immerse, 
&c,  and  must  be  proved  so  far  as  we  know  by 
linguists  that  such  was  the  signification  attached 
to  it  by  Jesus  when  he  gave  his  commission  to 
the  apostles  to  baptize. 

It  would  be  far  better  for  men,  who  go  about 
to  raise  a  doubt  in  reference  to  the  signification 
of  the  Greek  word,  to  leave  that  matter  as  it  is ; 
for  they  are  constrained,  after  investigating  ev- 
ery doubtful  example,  to  yield,  evidently  with 
great  unwillingness,  and  to  say,  with  Professor 
Stewart,  "  It  is  probable,  though  not  quite  cer- 
tain, that  baptizo  in  the  New  Testament  signi- 
fies to  immerse." 

Let  there  be  this  much  of  candor  on  the  part 
of  those  who  have  departed  from  the  original 
law  of  baptism  :  let  them  say,  if  they  can  con- 
scientiously so  look  upon  the  matter  of  the  com- 
mand, that  they  are  not  bound  to  adhere  to  the 
original  form  of  the  institution,  since  it  is  an 


CHRISTIAN    BAPTISM. 


73 


external  rite,  and  that  they  feel  safe  and  ap- 
proved by  the  Great  Lawgiver,  as  virtually  ob- 
serving his  command,  though  they  do  not  sub- 
merge in  water,  but  pour,  sprinkle,  or  in  any 
other  way  apply  water,  in  the  name  of  the  Fa- 
ther, and  of  the  Son,  and  of  the  Holy  Ghost. 
We  may  look  upon  the  command  differently, 
and  decide  that  they  did  not  baptize  at  all ;  yet 
they  themselves,  concluding  they  had  received 
a  valid  baptism,  and  feeling  that  what  they  did 
was  conscientiously  done,  virtually  answering 
every  purpose  of  the  command,  we  leave  them ; 
to  their  own  Master  they  stand  or  fall :  but  when 
they  attempt  to  give  any  other  signification  than 
that  of  an  overwhelming  or  immersion  to  the 
word  daptizo,  as  used  in  the  New  Testament, 
they  weaken  their  position,  so  we  think. 

It  ought  to  be  received  as  an  undoubted  truth 
that  Jesus  delivered  himself  in  terms  to  be  fully 
comprehended  by  his  apostles  and  disciples, 
when  he  commanded  them  to  baptize.  There 
was  nothing  doubtful  or  ambiguous  to  them, 
when  he  enjoined  upon  them  the  discharge  of 
certain  duties  that  they  were  to  teach  others  to 
observe.  He  doubtless  conveyed  a  definite  sig- 
nification in  the  word  he  used,  and  such  a  one 

4 


Y4  CHRISTIAN    ORDINANCES. 

as  they  fully  comprehended  ;  for  this  reason  we 
find  no  inquiry  by  the  multitude,  who  believed 
and  were  commanded  to  be  baptized,  what  it 
was  to  be  baptized. 

There  was  such  a  marked  observance  in  de- 
livering the  ancient  ritual  to  the  Israelites,  that 
there  could  be  no  possibility  of  mistake  about 
what  was  enjoined;  so  that  Moses  could  say  to 
the  people  :  "  This  commandment  which  I  com- 
mand thee  this  clay,  it  is  not  hidden  from  thee, 
neither  is  it  far  off.  It  is  not  in  heaven,  that 
thou  shouldest  say,  -  Who  shall  go  up  for  us  to 
heaven,  and  bring  it  unto  us,  that  we  may  hear 
it,  and  do  it?'  Neither  is  it  beyond  the  sea, 
that  thou  shouldest  say,  '  Who  shall  go  over  the 
sea  for  us,  and  bring  'it  unto  us,  that  we  may 
hear  it,  and  do  it?'  But  the  word  is  very  nigh 
unto  thee,  in  thy  mouth,  and  in  thy  heart,  that 
thou  may  est  do  it"  (Deuteronomy  30 :  11-14). 
Thus  the  servant  of  God  declared  of  the  intelli- 
gible nature  of  that  which  God. had  command- 
ed :  it  was  in  their  mouth  and  in  their  heart 
(that  is,  I  conceive,  in  the  language  they  used), 
their  vernacular  tongue,  conveying  right  con- 
ceptions of  God's  requirements. 

Was,  then,  the  law  given  by  Moses,  and  all 


CHRISTIAN    BAPTISM.  75 

that  the  nation  had  enjoined  on  them,  so  intel- 
ligible—  and  shall  we  suppose  that  the  institu- 
tions of  the  gospel  were  shut  up  in  a  mist,  or 
assumed  no  definite  form,  by  reason  of  the  am- 
biguity with  which  Jesus  delivered  them  %  Im- 
possible. The  Great  Master  made  all  clear,  and 
so  definite,  that  there  was  no  doubt  in  the  minds 
of  the  apostles  as  to  what  they  were  to  do  when 
baptizing. 

SECTION  V. THE    PRACTICE   OF  THE   APOSTLES    AND 

EARLY    DISCIPLES. 

The  apostles  understood  their  commission  — 
and  doubtless  they  baptized  uniformly  the  same, 
without  deviating  in  one  single  instance  from 
the  way  and  manner  in  which  they  understood 
Jesus  to  imply.  They  dare  not  do  otherwise 
than  he  required  of  them  ;  and  I  ask  the  candid 
reader  of  the  New  Testament,  was  it  by  sprin- 
kling, or  pouring,  or  washing,  or  submerging? 
for,  whichever  way  it  .was,  that  way  they  prac- 
tised, and  but  that  one  way.  With  such  over- 
whelming evidence  in  the  examples,  and  with 
the  statements  in  relation  to  those  examples,  it 
is  manifest  the  mode  was  that  of  burying  the 


76  CHRISTIAN   ORDINANCES. 

candidate,  for  the  ordinance  of  Christian  bap- 
tism, in  the  watery  element,  i.  ey  it  is  so  to  us. 

Having  taken  this  short  cut,  we  come  at  a 
rational  and  philosophical  conclusion,  and  evade 
the  irksome  task  of  wading  through  those  laby- 
rinths of  wordy  discussions  about  the  preposi- 
tions in  or  into^  and  as  to  what  relation  they 
bear  to  the  waters  where  baptism  is  said  to  have 
been  administered  by  the  apostles.  Hundreds 
and  hundreds  of  pages  have  been  written,  ac- 
complishing nothing  but  a  play  upon  the  little 
words  of  a  sentence,  while  the  signification  of 
the  whole  passage  stands  out  in  bold  relief,  so 
that  a  child  of  common  comprehension  might 
laugh  such  performance  to  scorn. 

Now  let  the  history  of  the  church  supply  us 
with  some  reflections ;  for  it  is  there,  after  the 
closing  up  of  the  canon  of  the  New-Testament 
Scriptures,  that  we  learn  of  first  deviations  from 
the  letter  of  the  law  of  Jesus.  We  need  not 
regard  the  history  of  the  church  for  the  first 
century,  as  the  Scriptures  carry  us  down  to  that 
period.  From  them,  therefore,  the  examples 
should  be  gathered,  and  to  them  we  have  re- 
ferred. 

In  traversing  through  ecclesiastical  history 


CHRISTIAN    BAPTISM. 


77 


of  the  second  century,  there  is  no  innovation 
upon  the  command  given  by  the  Lord  Jesus  to 
his  apostles.  What  is  said  upon  the  ordinance 
of  baptism,  reflects  back  upon  what  the  apostles 
practised.  Barnabas,  Justin  Martyr,  and  others, 
are  definite  in  what  they  say.  Barnabas  re- 
marks :  "  We  go  down  into  the  water  full  of 
sins  and  pollution,  but  come  up  again  bringing 
forth  fruits,  having  in  our  hearts  the  fear  and 
hope  which  is  in  Jesus  by  the  Spirit"  (Epistle, 
§11).  Justin  Martyr  said  —  in  referring  to  the 
universal  practice  of  Christians,  which  he  de- 
scribed to  the  Roman  emperor — "Those  who 
believe  are  led  to  some  place  where  there  is  wa- 
ter, and  then  are  bathed  in  the  water"  (1  Apol- 
ogy* p-  61)- 

At  the  commencement  of  the  third  century, 
we  find  no  deviation  from  this  uniform  practice  ; 
but,  about  the  middle  of  it,  we  have  intimation 
of  occasional  departure.  Inquiry  was  made  of 
Cyprian,  bishop  of  Carthage,  whether  those 
ought  to  be  regarded  as  legitimate  Christians, 
who,  on  account  of  languor  and  sickness,  had 
not  been,  bathed  in  salutary  water,  but  only 
wet  with  water  poured  upon  them.  Here  was 
evidently  an  innovation  upon  baptism,  suggest- 


78  CHRISTIAN    ORDINANCES. 

ed  by  necessity,  but  not  otherwise  tolerated. 
The  reply  of  the  bishop  was :  "  So  far  as  my 
own  humble  -  opinion  goes,  I  do  not  thiuk  that 
the  Divine  benefits  are  in  any  degree  dimin- 
ished, nor  that  anything  of  Divine  bounty  is 
at  all  diminished,"  &c.  (Epist.  ad  Magnum.  Edi. 
Paris,  1643.)  While  we  see,  both  in  the  ques- 
tion and  the  answer,  that  there  had  been  a  grow- 
ing into  the  mystery  of  iniquity,  and  that  saving 
benefits  were  then  attached  to  the  ordinance  of 
baptism  —  so  that  it  was  looked  upon  as  some- 
thing more  than  when  it  was  administered  by 
the  apostles — yet  it /was  evident  that  the  mode 
of  administeriDg  the  rite  was  the  same — that  is, 
by  immersion.  A  little  earlier  in  this  century, 
we  find  another  kind  of  innovation,  which  was 
that  of  three  immersions  in  baptism. 

In  the  fourth  century,  there  were  not  only 
three  immersions,  but  three  invocations.  Pas- 
sing on  to  the  eighth  century,  it  was  asked  of 
the  pope  if  "  it  wTas  lawful,  in  case  of  necessity, 
occasioned  by  sickness,  to  baptize  an  infant  by 
pouring  water  on  its  head,  from  a  cup,  or  the 
hands,"  to  which  he  replied,  "  Such  a  baptism, 
performed  in  such  a  case  of  necessity,  should 
be  accounted  valid"  (Apud   Labbei   Concilia, 


CHRISTIAN   BAPTISM.  79 

tome  6,  p.  1650.  In  the  thirteenth  century,  St. 
Thomas  Aquinas  says,  "It  is  safer  to  baptize 
by  the  mode  of  immersion,  because  this  has  cus- 
tom and  usage  in  its  favor ;"  and,  in  Article  8, 
he  says :  "  The  minister  sins  grievously,  who 
baptizes  otherwise  than  by  immersion ;  since  he 
does  not  observe  the  rite  of  the  church." 

In  the  fifteenth  century,  Erasmus  says,  "  With 
us  they  have  water  poured  on  1iiem  in  baptism, 
in  England  they  are  dipped ;"  so  that  with  the 
Dutch  we  find  the  practice  of  immersion  in  dis- 
use at  this  time,  but  not  so  in  England.  At  the 
beginning  of  the  sixteenth  century,  the  English 
church  required  immersion,  except  in  cases  of 
weakness.  It  was  a  little  before  the  closing  of 
the  first  half  of  this  century  that  sprinkling  was 
introduced  into  England.  In  1643,  it  was  de- 
bated in  the  assembly  of  divines  at  Westmin- 
ster whether  immersion  or  sprinkling  should  be 
adopted  as  the  practice  of  the  church :  it  was 
decided  in  favor  of  sprinkling,  by  a  vote  of 
twenty-five  to  twenty-four. 

Could  anything  be  more  satisfactory  in  con- 
firmation  of  the  baptism  of  the  first  Christians 
by  immersion,  than  what  the  history  of  the 
church   presents?     Professor   Stewart,  though 


80  CHRISTIAN    ORDINANCES. 

the  advocate  for  infant  sprinkling,  says :  "  The 
mode  of  baptism  by  immersion  the  oriental 
church  has  always  continued  to  preserve,  even 
down  to  the  present  time."  Now  the  Greek 
church  embraces  a  very  large  portion  of  Chris- 
tendom. Dr.  Wall  remarks,  in  his  "  History  of 
Infant  Baptism,"  concerning  those  who  practise 
immersion,  that  "  all  the  Christians  in  Asia,  all 
in  Africa,  and  about  one  third  part  of  Europe, 
are  of  this  last  sort,  in  which  third  part  of  Eu- 
rope are  comprehended  the  Christians  of  Grse- 
cia,  Thracia,  Servia,  Bulgaria,  Rascia,  Wallachia, 
Moldavia,  Russia,  Nigra,  and  so  on ;  and  even 
the  Muscovites,  who,  if  the  coldness  of  the  coun- 
try would  excuse,  might  plead  for  a  dispensa- 
tion with  more  reason  than  any." 

So  much,  then,  for  the  practice  of  the  church, 
and  the  construction  which  linguists  of  all  Chris- 
tian nations  have  put  upon  the  word  haptizo. 
They  did  not  attempt  to  imply,  even  long  after 
they  had  made  alterations  in  God's  ordinance, 
and  perverted  it,  that  the  Greek  word  signified 
what  they  practised.  No — it  is  the  men  of 
very  modern  times  who  have  turned  lexicogra- 
phers, to  give  other  meanings  to  words  from 
those  formerly  understood  ;  but  it  is  very  much 


CHRISTIAN   BAPTISM.  81 

better  that  we  should  adhere  to  the  original : 
and,  having  done  so,  we  may  be  satisfied  that 
baptism  is  the  submerging  the  baptized  in 
water,  and  may  confidently  let  this  rest,  to  in- 
vestigate another  feature  of  the  commission  of 
the  Saviour. 

SECTION   VI. THE   PROPER   SUBJECTS    FOR   BAPTISM. 

From  the  wording  of  the  commission,  we 
should  think  that  the  subjects  suited  for  baptism 
may  as  clearly  be  understood  as  the  mode  of 
administering  the  ordinance.  The  letter  of  the 
commission  is :  "  Go  ye,  therefore,  and  teach  all 
nations,  baptizing  them,  in  the  name  of  the  Fa- 
ther, and  of  the  Son,  and  of  the  Holy  Ghost : 
teaching  them  to  observe  all  things  whatsoever 
J  have  commanded  you"  (Matthew  28 :  19,  20). 
In  Mark  16 :  15,  16,  it  is  thus  worded:  "  Go  ye 
into  all  the  world,  and  preach  the  gospel  to  ev- 
ery creature.  He  that  believeth  and  is  baptised, 
shall  be  saved ;  but  he  that  believeth  not,  shall 
be  damned."  It  is  evident,  from  the  wording  of 
the  commission,  that  the  gospel  was  first  to  be 
preached  to  the  people,  then  their  faith  in  it  was 
to  be  declared,  and  then  they  were  to  be  bap- 

4* 


82  CHRISTIAN    ORDINANCES. 


ti^ed ;  after  which,  as  Christians,  they  were  to 
be  instructed  more  fully  in  all  things  pertaining 
to  the  commands  of  Jesus,  which  may  embrace 
the  whole  relating  to  the  grace  of  salvation,  with 
the  doctrines  of  Christianity. 
•  The  very  letter  of  this  commission  was  ob- 
served by  the  apostles  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ. 
The  proceeding  of  Philip  with  the  eunuch  gives 
a  clearness  to  the  particular  steps  observed  by 
the  apostles,  in  following  their  commission. 
Philip  preached  Christ  to  the  eunuch,  showing 
how  the  prophecy  in  Isaiah  had  been  accom- 
plished in  the  person  of  Jesus  of  Nazareth  (Isa. 
53).  The  truth  was  received  by  faith,  and  the 
rite  of  baptism  sought  by  an  inquiry  if  ther'j 
could  be  any  impediment  to  baptism,  to  which 
Philip  replied,  none,  if  indeed  he  did  believe 
with  all  his  heart.  A  ready  confession  of  his 
faith  was  then  made,  and  he  was  baptized. 

When  Peter  enjoined  repentance  on  the  mul- 
titude, before  baptism,  it  was  a  repentance  upon 
the  ground  of  faith  manifested  in  their  concern 
about  the  charge  of  being  the  murderers  of  the 
Lord  Jesus  Christ:  faith  in  the  whole  history 
of  Jesus,  as  the  true  Messiah,  led  to  the  anxious 
inquiry,  a  What  must  we  do  ?"     Now  it  is  evi- 


CHRISTIAN   BAPTISM.  83 

dent  that  teaching  came  first,  which  teaching  is 
definite  :  it  is'  the  preaching  of  the  gospel. 

The  communication  of  the  grace  of  the  gospel 
was  not  to  be  limited  to  the  Jews,  as  it  was  be- 
fore the  Jewish  dispensation  had  an  end.  When 
Jesus  sent  out  the  twelve  and  the  seventy  with 
the  express  command  to  proclaim  that  the  king- 
dom of  heaven  was  at  hand,  then  they  were  not 
to  go  into  the  way  of  the  Gentiles,  nor  into  any 
city  of  the  Samaritans ;  but  now  they  are  ex- 
pressly commanded  to  "  go  into  all  the  world, 
and  preach  the  gospel  to  every  creature."  Faith 
was  to  come  by  hearing,  and  hearing  by  the 
word  of  God.  Therefore,  when  evidence  was 
given  that  this  teaching  was  received  and  cor- 
dially and  sincerely  believed  in,  for  the  salva- 
tion of  the  soul,  they  were  to  be  baptized.  Men 
may  reason  and  write,  to  the  end  of  time,  con- 
trary to  this ;  but,  witli  so  plain  a  commission, 
it  is  to  us  conclusive,  apart  from  every  other 
consideration,  that  believers'  baptism  is  the  one 
baptism  contained  in  the  commission. 

They  that  were  to  be  baptized  had  been  taught 
—  and,  as  old  heads  can  not  be  put  upon  young 
shoulders,  no  more  can  reason  be  given  to  ba- 
bies; for  God  has  ordained  that,  in  the  first 


84:  CHRISTIAN    ORDINANCES. 

stages  of  humanity,  the  senses  shall  have  exclu- 
sive government ;  at  least  till  reason  has  dawned 
in  the  infant  mind,  there  can  be  no  teaching 
those  things  which  require  the  exercise  of  rea- 
son to  embrace  :  therefore,  if  Jesus  intended 
that  infants  should  be  baptized,  he  gave  a  com- 
mission which  in  no  way  included  the  idea. 
Now  this  must  be  believed  before  it  can  be 
considered  that  infants  are  proper  subjects  for 
the  baptismal  font. 

Again,  if  it  were  obligatory  on  parents  to 
bring  their  children  to  be  baptized,  there  would 
be  a  command  for  it ;  but  no  such  command  is 
to  be  found.  The  duties  of  parents  are  stated 
definitely  enough  with  regard  to  their  religious 
responsibilities,  but  there  is  nothing  even  to  fos- 
ter the  most  distant  idea  that  they  are  required 
by  the  Lord  to  have  their  children  dedicated  to 
him  in  baptism  ;  and  were  it  not  that  a  general 
feeling  has  possessed  the  sensitive  minds  of  pa- 
rents that  there  were  some  saving  benefits  in  the 
ordinance,  they  could  not  entertain  the  idea 
that  it  was  their  duty  to  seek  baptism  for  their 
children. 


CHRISTIAN   BAPTISM.  85 


SECTION  VII. BAPTISM   PERVERTED   IN   ITS   SIGNIFI- 
CATION   AND    USE. 

Palpable  errors  can  easily  be  traced  to  their 
origin.  Baptism,  after  the  second  century,  be- 
gan to  be  clothed  with  superstitions  notions :  it 
was  called  "  the  salutary  water"  and  people 
were  told  that  "the  benefits  of  GocVs  grace" 
came  with  baptism.  It  was  regarded  as  wash- 
ing away  guilt,  and  absolutely  necessary  to  save 
from  Adam's  sin.  It  was  then  called  with  great 
emphasis  "the  wetter  of  regeneration ;"  and  it 
was  firmly  believed  that,  in  baptism,  the  indi- 
vidual was  renewed  by  the  Holy  Ghost.  Then 
it  was  as  confidently  asserted,  and  as  implicitly 
believed,  that  all  who  died  unbaptizecl  were  lost, 
as  under  the  curse  of  God. 

What  the  priest's  lips  uttered  was  regarded, 
perhaps,  as  immutable  truth,  and  the  sensibili- 
ties of  the  parents  were  at  once  fully  alive  to 
the  best  interests  of  their  offspring.  "We  have 
seen  that  the  innovation  was  made  upon  believ- 
ers' baptism  by  first  administering  sprinkling  or 
pouring  in  cases  of  dangerous  sickness,  and  then 
afterward  it  followed  as  a  general  practice. 


86  CHRISTIAN    ORDINANCES. 

It  is  possible  that  in  the  present  day,  through- 
out Christendom,  three  fifths  of  those  who  j>rac- 
tise  what  is  called  infant  baptism  believe  that 
there  is  no  salvation  without  it;  and  that  to 
withhold  their  infants  from  the  baptismal  font, 
or  rather  from  having  water  administered  to 
them  by  sprinkling,  would  be  to  level  them- 
selves with  the  barbarous  heathen.  They  verily 
believe,  when  giving  them  up  in  baptism,  that 
there  are  religious  benefits  secured  for  their 
children  should  they  live,  and  certain  salvation 
should  they  die.  The  other  two  fifths,  perhaps, 
almost  without  exception,  have  adhered  to  it  as 
a  Christian  rite,  which  they  are  bound  to  seek 
for  their  tender  offspring:  they  think  there  is  a 
duty  incumbent  upon  them  as  Christian  parents 
to  dedicate  their  children  to  the  Lord,  and  that 
they  may  hope  more  reasonably  for  the  Divine 
blessing  upon  them  if  they  attend  to  their  bap- 
tism. 

Now,  baptism  is  no  dedication.  When  pa- 
rents, who  are  really  devoted  Christians  them- 
selves, consider  that  to  take  their  offspring  in 
earnest  prayer  and  faith  to  the  Lord  is  the  best 
and  only  dedication  they  can  make  of  them,  and 
that  under  the  Christian  dispensation  no  benefit 


CHRISTIAN    BAPTISM.  87 

can  be  secured  to  them  by  any  religious  cere- 
mony, in  the  same  way  as  civil,  national,  and 
legal  religious  benefits  were  secured  by  circum- 
cision to  the  offspring  of  the  Jews,  it  is  to  be 
hoped  that  many  will  yield  up  that  which  is 
only  a  perversion  of  the  ordinance  of  baptism, 
seeing  that  they  are  more  likely  to  incur  dis- 
pleasure than  approval  from  the  Lord  when 
they  professedly  bring  them  to  an  ordinance 
not  instituted  for  them. 

We  have  somewhat  digressed,  in  following 
out  this  feature  of  innovation  upon  the  Chris- 
tian ordinance  of  baptism,  before  fairly  consid- 
ering the  practice  of  the  apostles  of  Christ  in 
due  order  after  noticing  the  wording  of  the  com- 
mission. Reverting  to  that,  we  shall  discover 
how  far  there  can  be  any  justification  of  the 
supposition  that  they  understood  other  baptisms 
to  be  intended  for  their  practice  and  observance, 
besides  what  the  wording  of  the  command  sets 
forth. 

In  the  first  place,  no  mention  is  made  of  the 
baptism  of  infants ;  in  the  next  place,  no  infer- 
ence can  be  gathered,  from  any  of  the  practices 
of  the  apostles  or  disciples,  that  they  did  bap- 
tize them.     Questions  have  been  created  about 


88  CHRISTIAN    ORDINANCES. 

the  baptized  households,  and  all  suggestions  of 
a  supposititious  nature  have  been  fully  written 
on,  as  a  pretext  for  infant  baptism ;  but  all  this 
has  been  entirely  exploded,  so  as  not  to  require 
any  further  remark,  but  that  learned  and  sage 
pedobaptists,  who  have  written  upon  this  fea- 
ture of  the  discussion,  have  admitted  that  it 
amounts  to  what  may  be  regarded  as  certain, 
that  the  baptized  of  those  households  spoken  of 
in  the  New  Testament  were  none  of  them  in- 
fants, but  were  all  of  them  such  as  could  both 
act  for  themselves  and  believe  the  message  of 
the  apostles  and  disciples.  In  the  third  place, 
did  the  apostles  enjoin  any  such  duty  upon  pa- 
rents? If  they  understood,  from  the  commis- 
sion, that  baptized  parents  were  to  have  all  their 
children  baptized,  certainly  in  some  of  their  wri- 
tings we  should  find  some  allusion  to  it.  They 
enjoined  duties  on  parents,  which  they  have 
fully  understood,  and  which  even  Nature  might 
have  taught  them  without  religion ;  therefore 
they  did  not,  as  some  have  supposed,  omit  to 
enjoin  it  upon  the  ground  that  parents  were 
well  acquainted  with  it. 

Is  it  possible  that  so  much  could  have  been 
said  in  the  New  Testament  about  baptism,  and 


CHRISTIAN    BAPTISM.  89 

nothing  about  this  vast  multitude  of  children 
being  baptized,  if  indeed  they  were  baptized? 
It  would  have  been  a  strange  event  in  the  his- 
tory of  parents^  if  they  could  have  gone  with 
their  little,  and  in  some  cases  numerous  tribes, 
to  have  them  baptized,  without  creating  some 
excitement,  which  might  incidentally,  at  least, 
have  called  forth  remarks  in  the  writings  of  the 
apostles.  Surely  no  one  who  knows  human  na- 
ture at  all  will  believe  that  this  could  have  been 
done  so  quietly  and  secretly  as  not  to  leave  a 
trace  to  bear  witness  that  it  was  done  at  all. 

The  language  of  the  commission,  and  the 
practice  of  the  apostles  and  disciples  of  the 
Lord  Jesus,  are  demonstrable  proof  that  no  bap- 
tism was  authorized  or  known  in  the  first  cen- 
tury of  the  Christian  era  but  the  baptism  of  be- 
lievers, as  verbally  contained  in  the  direction 
which  Jesus  gave  to  his  apostles.  After  that 
time,  we  have  to  depend  upon  ecclesiastical  his- 
tory for  information  ;  and  it  is  not  a  little  mat- 
ter of  satisfaction  to  baptists,  on  coming  to  a  dis- 
passionate decision,  that  there  is  no  such  thing 
as  infant  baptism  in  the  New  Testament  —  to 
find  that  learned  pedobaptists,  who  have  la- 
bored hard  to  defend  their  practice,  have  con- 


90  CHRISTIAN   ORDINANCES. 

fessecl  that  there  is  neither  u  express  precept  no?* 
example"  for  it  in  the  Bible.  Even  Luther  says 
of  infant  baptism,  though  he  defended  and  prac- 
tised it — "It  can  not  be  proved  by  the  sacred 
Scriptures  that  infant  baptism  was  instituted  by 
Christ,  or  begun  by  the  first  Christians  after  the 
apostles." 

In  the  first  half  of  the  second  century,  there 
is  no  evidence  that  infant  baptism  was  known. 
Some  have,  without  foundation,  asserted  that 
Justin  Martyr  and  Irenseus  (both  of  this  century) 
admitted  that  infant  baptism  had  been  brought 
into  practice  ;  but  nothing  can  be  found  in  their 
writings  to  substantiate  it.  Tertullian  at  the 
close  of  this  century  wrote,  and  alluded  to  the 
baptism  of  "  little  ones,"  and  he  opposed  the 
baptism  of  such.  He  says :  "  It  is,  therefore, 
most  expedient  to  defer  baptism,  and  to  regu- 
late the  administration  of  it  according  to  the 
condition,  the  disposition,  and  the  age,  of  the 
person  to  be  baptized  —  and  especially  in  the 
case  of  the  little  ones"  (Robinson's  "  History  of 
Baptism,"  p.  175).  Curcelloeus  says  :  "  The  bap- 
tism of  infants,  in  the  first  two  centuries  after 
Christ,  was  altogether  unknown  ;  but  in  the 
third  and  fourth  was  allowed  by  some  few.     In 


CHRISTIAN   BAPTISM.  91 

the  fifth  and  following  ages,  it  was  generally 
received.  The  custom  of  baptizing  infants  did 
not  begin  before  the  third  age  after  Christ  was 
born"  (Inst.  Relig.  Christ.,  lib.  i.,  cxii.).  Rhien- 
wald  says  (p.  313) :  "  The  first  traces  of  infant 
baptism  are  found  in  the  western  church,  after 
the  middle  of  the  second  century,  and  it  was 
the  subject  of  controversy  in  proconsular  Africa 
toward  the  end  of  this  century.  Though  its  ne- 
cessity was  asserted  in  Africa  and  Egypt,  in  the 
beginning  of  the  third  century,  it  was  even  to 
the  end  of  the  fourth  century  by  no  means  uni- 
versally observed — least  of  all  in  the  eastern 
church.  Notwithstanding  the  recommendation 
of  it  by  the  fathers,  it  never  became  a  general 
ecclesiastical  institution  till  the  .age  of  Augus- 
tine." In  Professor  Halm's  "  Theology,"  p.  557, 
we  read :  "  Neither  in  the  Scripture,  nor  during 
the  first  hundred  and  fifty  years,  is  a  sure  ex- 
ample of  infant  baptism  to  be  found ;  and  we 
must  concede  that  the  numerous  opposers  of  it 
can  not  be  contradicted  on  gospel  ground." 

It  is  unnecessary  to  traverse  through  succeed- 
ing centuries  to  notice  the  practice  of  the  church, 
and  the  perpetual  disputation  occasioned  by  in- 
novation upon  the  primitive  institution  of  bap- 


CHRISTIAN    ORDINANCES. 


tism.  Let  it  suffice  that  the  most  able  men  who 
have  written  upon  the  controversy,  and  in  favor 
of  infant  baptism,  have  yielded  such  concessions 
as  those  we  have  recorded.  It  seems  to  be  in 
the  spirit  of  triumphant  exultation  that  Bossuet, 
the  most  able  of  the  Roman  catholic  controver- 
sialists of  his  time,  in  referring  to  the  contro- 
versy between  Luther  and  his  followers  with 
the  baptists,  says  :  "  Experience  has  shown  that 
all  the  attempts  of  the  reformed  to  confound  the 
anabaptists  by  the  Scriptures  have  been  weak, 
and  therefore  they  are  at  last  obliged  to  allege 
to  them  the  practice  of  the  church"  (Stennet  to 
Russen). 

SECTION  VIII. THE  THINGS    SIGNIFIED   IN  BAPTISM. 

"VVe  have  seen  that  baptism,  as  a  symbolic  ordi- 
nance in  use  under  the  Christian  dispensation,was 
of  necessity  an  ordinance  of  Christ's  instituting. 
It  was  not  given  from  heaven  by  the  Father, 
but  by  Christ  upon  earth,  as  the  risen  Saviour, 
the  Lawgiver,  and  Head  of  the  church,  the  sole 
Founder  of  the  Christian  dispensation.  It  was 
given  by  him  to  be  an  institution  of  his  dispen- 
sation, not  to  be  abrogated  after  the  days  of  the 


CHRISTIAN   BAPTISM.  93 

apostles,  but  to  be  perpetuated  to  succeeding 
generations.  It  was  an  ordinance  so  clearly 
made  known  by  the  Almighty  Saviour  in  his 
commission,  when  he  authorized  its  practice, 
that  it  could  not  be  mistaken ;  and  in  all  the 
departures  from  it,  and  the  controversies  which 
have  sprung  from  forsaking  it,  there  has  been 
no  attempt  on  the  part  of  enlightened  pedobap- 
tists  to  deny  the  fact  that,  what  Christ  commis- 
sioned his  disciples  to  do,  and  what  apparently 
they  uniformly  practised,  was,  to  baptize  those 
who  had  first  been  taught,  or  who  at  least  ac- 
knowledged their  belief,  that  Jesus  was  the 
Christ :  they  were  then  baptized  by  immersion. 
Dr.  Thomas  Chalmers  observes,  in  his  lecture 
on  Romans  6  :  3-7 :  "  The  original  meaning  of 
the  word  'baptism'  is  immersion  ;  and  though, 
we  regard  it  as  a  point  of  indifference  whether 
the  ordinance  so  named  be  performed  in  this 
way  or  by  sprinkling,  yet  we  doubt  not  that  the 
prevalent  style  of  the  administration  in  the  apos- 
tles' days,  was  by  the  actual  submerging  of  the 
whole  body  in  water." 

The  things  signified  in  Christian  baptism  are 
of  vast  moment :  the  ordinance  in  itself  is  noth- 
ing without  it.     It  comes  in  with  the  first  sin- 


94  CHRISTIAN    ORDINANCES. 

cere  profession  of  Christianity,  and  symbolizes 
what  lias  taken  place  in  the  character  of  the 
baptized,  and  the  power  by  which  that  change 
has  been  effected.  In  the  contention 'about 
baptism,  it  is  certain  this  main  feature  is  lost 
sight  of;  and  then  baptism  is  nothing  in  the  es- 
timation of  the  Lawgiver,  any  more  than  was 
the  ceremony  under  the  law,  when  the  rightly- 
appointed  beast  in  sacrifice  was  offered  without 
the  heart  being  right  in  the  service  of  God ;  for 
it  is  said,  "  He  that  sacrificeth  a  lamb,  as  if  he 
cut  off  a  dog's  neck." 

Baptism  signifies  the  answer  of  a  good  con- 
science toward  God ;  the  sincerity  of  the  soul 
of  a  believer  in  what  is  symbolized,  viz.,  a  death 
unto  sin,  and  a  life  unto  righteousness ;  a  burial 
with  Christ  into  his  death,  and  a  resurrection 
into  newness  of  life ;  a  planting  in  the  likeness 
of  his  death,  and  a  likeness  also  of  his  resurrec- 
tion. It  is  in  this  sense  it  can  be  said,  "  If  any 
man  be  in  Christ,  he  is  a  new  creature ;"  he  is 
a  spiritual  man,  and  lives  to  God. 

But  this  is  not  all  in  baptism.  While  this  is 
symbolized  in  the  act  of  baptism  itself,  there  is 
something  in  the  element  which  is  also  symboli- 
cal.    There  is  very  great  danger  here  of  stop- 


CHRISTIAN    BAPTISM.  95 

ping  short  of  the  whole  of  that  which  is  repre- 
sented in  the  believer's  baptism.  The  Christian 
dispensation  is  emphatically  the  dispensation  of 
the  Spirit ;  and  we  are  bold  to  affirm,  what  has 
been  before  implied,  that  an  essential  feature 
of  Christian  baptism  is  wanting  if  the  blessed 
Spirit's  office  and  work  are  omitted.  For  this 
reason  it  is  palpably  plain  that  no  baptism,  prop- 
erly called  Christian  baptism,  could  have  been 
administered  before  the  day  of  pentecost. 

What !  represent  in  a  principle  of  Christian 
baptism  that  which  did  not  exist  at  the  time,  in 
the  manner  represented  %  This  mighty  change 
in  man,  when  he  savingly  believes  in  Jesus  — 
this  death  and  burial  with  Christ  felt  in  his 
soul,  and  this  coming  forth  into  a  new  and  spir- 
itual life,  with  holy  desires  longing  for  God, 
seeking  more  and  more  of  spirituality,  engaging 
in  all  spiritual  exercises  —  in  fact,  this  new  cre- 
ation is  tvhatf  If  not  demonstrably  the  great 
work  of  the  Spirit  in  the  Christian  dispensation, 
decipher  the  mystery.  If  it  were  possible  to 
take  any  other  view  of  it,  we  should  be  com- 
pelled to  adopt  the  monstrous  error  of  baptis- 
mal regeneration,  and  of  course  should  then 
affirm,  as  consistent  reasoners,  that  the  Spirit 


96  CHRISTIAN    ORDINANCES. 

in  the  Christian  dispensation,  npon  which  Jesus 
laid  so  much  stress,  was  a  superfluity.  But  we 
spurn  such  abuse  and  blasphemy.  It  is  the 
simple  principle  and  support  of  Christianity, 
that  the  Spvrit  is  the  mighty  and  blessed  agent 
in  all  the  change  wrought  in  the  soul  of  man, 
making  him  a  genuine  Christian  /  and  that 
baptism  equally  sets  forth  the  mighty  power 
effecting  the  transformation,  and  also  the  change 
itself  passed  upon  the  soul.  These  two  must  be 
combined,  or  baptism  is  a  dead  letter. 

Baptism  is  a  very  blessed  and  important  sym- 
bolical ordinance,  when  observed  in  the  true 
spirit  of  its  most  glorious  Author.  It  seems 
amazing  that  any  Christian,  who  has  not  sub- 
mitted to  it  in  the  way  and  manner  instituted 
by  Christ,  can  hold  back  from  it.  Such  an  out- 
ward setting  forth  of  the  triumphs  of  Divine 
mercy  and  grace  in  our  restoration  to  God  and 
to  the  image  of  his  moral  perfections,  seems 
stamped  with  Divine  authorship.  None  but 
Jesus  could  have  ordained  it ;  and  every  inno- 
vation upon  the  letter  of  the  institution  seems 
to  mar  it,  as  much  as  any  deviation  from  the 
pattern  of  the  tabernacle,  showed  to  Moses  in 
the  mount,  would  have  marred  that  wondrous 


CHRISTIAN    BAPTISM.  97 

structure.  Not  that  this  remark  is  intended  to 
imply  that  Jesus  gave  a  like  injunction  to  that 
given  to  Moses,  when  he  said,  "  See  that  thou 
make  all  things  according  to  the  pattern  showed 
thee  in  the  mount." 


SECTION    IX. CLOSING   REFLECTIONS. 

In  bringing  this  review  of  the  Christian  ordi- 
nance of  baptism  to  its  close,  it  is,  of  course, 
manifest  that  many  considerations  pressing  up- 
on the  mind,  connected  with  it,  have  not  been 
touched ;  the  embarrassing  feeling  has  been,  to 
decide  what  would  best  fall  in  to  make  the  in- 
stitution appear  as  definite,  according  to  the 
mind  of  its  blessed  Author,  as  possible.  But, 
after  all  that  has  been  said,  we  must  ever  set  a 
watch  upon  our  feelings,  lest  we  remove  this 
ordinance  from  its  right  place,  or  destroy  its 
signification  by  attaching  either  more  or  less  to 
it  than  that  which  the  Lord  designed. 

It  is  no  saving  ordinance,  and  it  is  a  fearful 
error  to  esteem  it  such.  This  idea,  alas !  has 
been  too  extensively  cherished,  and  relied  on, 
for  the  welfare  of  the  church  universal.  Even 
where  such  error  is  discountenanced,  it  has  some- 

5 


CHRISTIAN    ORDINANCES. 


how  or  other  engendered  something  of  its  es- 
sence or  spirit,  so  that  the  ordinance  is  looked 
at  beyond  the  simple  design  of  Jesus  in  com- 
manding it. 

It  is  no  doctrine  of  the  Christian  dispensation 
■ — it  is  not  a  thing  to  be  believed  in  to  the  sal- 
vation of  the  soul.  To  bring  it  to  the  position 
of  any  one  of  the  doctrines  of  saving  faith,  would 
be  as  erroneous,  on  the  one  hand,  as  to  reject  it 
altogether  from  a  place  in  the  Christian  dispen- 
sation, on  the  other.  The  altering  it  from  its 
original  is  not  to  be  considered  as  an  error  equal 
to  a  rejection  or  perversion  of  some  fundamental 
doctrine  of  Christianity. 

Too  much  stress  has  always  been  laid  upon 
baptism  from  the  earliest  period  of  uninspired 
church  history.  It  was  soon  regarded  as  an 
efficacious  ordinance.  It  was  conceived  that 
baptismal  water  had  that  virtue  which  is  only 
to  be  found  in  the  blood  of  Christ  for  washing 
away  sin,  and  that  virtue  which  is  only  with 
the  Holy  Spirit  in  regeneration.  It  merely 
symbolizes  that  which,  alas!  in  itself  it  was 
soon  believed  to  accomplish  ;  that  is,  the  change 
in  state  and  feelings  of  the  regenerate  soul. 
Now  it  is  evident  that  this  leaven  of  heresy  has 


CHRISTIAN    BAPTISM.  99 

pretty  much  leavened  the  whole  lump,  inasmuch 
as,  with  all  Christian  denominations,  too  much 
is  thought  of  baptism  ;  it  is  raised  up  out  of  its 
place,  and  other  things  necessary  to  salvation 
are  often  passed  over  in  comparison  with  this. 

Baptism  "is  not  a  sine  qua  non  in  the  Chris- 
tian dispensation,  with  all  the  labor  of  man  to 
make  it  such.  In  the  Scriptures  of  the  New 
Testament  it  stands  a  simple,  independent  ordi- 
nance, one  and  but  one  of  the  things  which 
Christ  has  enjoined  upon  his  disciples.  Truly  it 
is  a  symbolical  ordinance,  and  one,  as  we  have 
said,  setting  forth  some  most  blessed  and  inspi- 
ring truths ;  but,  after  all,  symbolical  institutions 
are  secondary,  and  have  no  more  claim  to  be 
enforced  than  any  and  every  one  of  the  relative 
duties  of  Christianity. 

Let  us  regard  with  affectionate  and  due  inter- 
est all  that  Christ  has  enjoined.  True,  genuine 
faith  in  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  in  the  covenant 
relation  which  he  sustains,  as  the  only  Saviour 
of  sinners,  renders  an  individual  eligible  to  be 
a  candidate  for  baptism,  and  for  every  other 
privilege  and  duty  of  the  Christian  dispensation, 
and  he  that  denies  this  frustrates  the  grace  of 
God. 


100  CHRISTIAN    ORDINANCES. 

If  faith  be  the  prerequisite  to  baptism,  as  a 
Christian  duty  and  privilege,  it  is  so  to  all  that 
is  enjoined  upon  the  believer.  So,  then,  bap- 
tism can  be  no  prerequisite  to  another  privilege 
or  duty  of  the  Christian  dispensation  :  else  bap- 
tism is  the  prerequisite  to  faith— -that  is,  the 
prerequisite  to  that  which  was  its  own  prerequi- 
site—  which  not  only  frustrates  the  grace  of 
God,  but  is  an  absurdity. 

Now,  all  this  misconception  has  evidently 
sprung  out  of  the  idea  of  baptismal  regenera- 
tion, though  advocated  by  many  who  denounce 
an  error  so  gross  as  that  water  should  possess 
virtue  of  itself  to  renew  a  soul. 

That  God  may  in  infinite  mercy  save  us  from 
error,  recover  us  where  we  have  departed  from 
truth,  and  make  us  steadfast  in  every  good  word 
and  work,  is  a  prayer  we  all  need  to  offer  con- 
tinually ;  while,  under  a  sense  of  our  own  im- 
perfection, we  shall  in  humility  display  the  true 
Christian  spirit  wherever  we  see  the  image  of 
Jesus,  and  not  persecute  and  despise  those  who 
conscientiously  can  not  see  eye  to  eye  with  us. 


PART   III. 


THE   LORD'S   SUPPER. 


SECTION    I. PREPARATION    FOR    THE    PASCHAL 

SUPPER. 

Immediately  connected  with  the  passover- 
feast  we  have  the  institution  of  the  Lord's  Sup- 
per ;  and,  by  some  reference  to  the  preparation 
for  eating  this  Jewish  feast,  we  shall  arrive  at  the 
important  symbolical  ordinance  which  is  to  pass 
under  our  review,  in  its  design  and  bearings. 

The  mind  becomes  impressed  with  a  hallowed 
solemnity  —  a  commingled  feeling  of  pleasura- 
ble sacredness  and  sobriety  fills  the  soul — in 
approaching  an  ordinance,  the  substance  of 
which  fills  heaven  and  earth  with  solemn  admi- 
ration and  praise. 

Our  thoughts  nt)w  recur  to  events  which  his- 


102  CHRISTIAN   ORDINANCES. 

tory  records  of  places  and  tilings  more  than 
eighteen  hundred  years  ago,  when  the  inhabit- 
ants of  Jerusalem  were  in  all  the  excitement  of 
preparation  to  commemorate  one  of  the  three 
great  national  festivals  which  gave  a  distinctive 
feature  to  their  history,  and  the  elate  of  a  new 
epoch  of  time.  It  was  the  feast  of  the  passover. 
The  institution  of  the  passover,  together  with 
all  the  observances  which  God  enjoined  upon 
the  Israelites  for  its  commemoration,  have  di- 
rect bearing  upon  the  institution  of  the  Lord's 
Supper,  and  the  latter  has  been  given  to  super- 
sede the  former ;  so-that,  in  many  respects,  the 
feast  of  the  Lord's  Supper  is  to  the  Christian 
what  the  feast  of  the  passover  was  to  the  Jew. 
Paul  exhorts  Christians  to  "  purge  out,  there- 
fore, the  old  leaven,  that  ye  may  be  a  new  lump, 
as  ye  are  unleavened.  For  even  Christ  our  pass- 
over  is  sacrificed  for  us  :  therefore,  let  us  keep 
the  feast,  not  with  old  leaven,  neither  with  the 
leaven  of  malice  and  wickedness,  but  with  the 
unleavened  bread  of  sincerity  and  truth"  (1  Cor. 
5 :  7,  8).  Such  an  allusion  to  the  passover,  as 
typical  of  the  sacrifice  of  Christ,  leads  us  to  con- 
sider the  circumstances  of  that  institution  in  its 
general  features,  as  setting  forth  that  which  re- 


103 


lates  to  the  dispensation  of  God's  grace  by  Jesus 
Christ. 

The  inhabitants  of  Jerusalem,  in  making  prep- 
arations for  the  celebration  of  the  feast  of  the 
passover,  provided  suitable  domestic  apparatus, 
either  entirely  new  vessels  for  cooking-purposes, 
or  they  brought  out  those  that  had  been  dedi- 
cated solely  to  the  feast  of  the  passover,  and 
had  been  safely  laid  aside,  from  the  time  of  the 
foregoing  feast.  It  was  with  great  carefulness 
that  they  observed  the  command  to  remove  all 
leaven  from  their  houses.  In  addition  to  these 
things,  there  were  not  less,  perhaps,  than  two 
hundred  and  fifty  thousand  lambs  pent  up,  to 
be  examined,  as  fit  to  be  offered  in  sacrifice,  for 
the  paschal  feast.  But,  at  the  time  to  which  we 
refer,  there  was  one  Lamb  to  be  led  to  the  slaugh- 
ter, whose  one  sacrifice  should  eclipse  the  whole 
of  the  countless  numbers  which  had  been  legally 
slain  from  the  memorable  night  of  the  passover, 
in  Egypt,  to  that  time ;  and  be  so  vicarious  to 
all  generations,  as  that  the  senseless,  innocent 
lamb  should  never  more  be  required,  and  all 
typical  feasts  and  sacrifices  be  abolished  for 
ever : — 

"Tis  Christ,  the  heavenly  Lamb,  takes  all  our  sins  away." 


104  CHRISTIAN   ORDINANCES. 

Jesus  was  not  less  interested  about  the  ap- 
proaching feast  than  any  devout  Jew  in  Jerusa- 
lem, as  the  following  colloquy  between  him  and 
his  disciples  will  prove.  We  read  in  Luke  22  : 
8-13 :  "  He  sent  Peter  and  John,  saying,  l  Go 
and  prepare  us  the  passover,  that  we  may  eat.' 
And  they  said  unto  him, '  Where  wilt  thou  that 
we  prepare  V  And  he  said  unto  them,  '  Behold, 
when  ye  are  entered  into  the  city,  there  shall  a 
man  meet  you,  bearing  a  pitcher  of  water ;  fol- 
low him  into  the  house  where  he  entereth  in. 
And  ye  shall  say  unto  the  good  man  of  the 
house,  "  The  Master  saith  unto  thee,  c  Where  is 
the  guest-chamber,  where  I  shall  eat  the  passo- 
ver with  my  disciples?'"  And  he  shall  show 
you  a  large  upper  room  furnished :  there  make 
ready.'  And  they  went,  and  found  as  he  had 
said  unto  them  :  and  they  made  ready  the  pass- 
over." 

The  Mosaic  dispensation  had  not  then  seen 
its  end,  but  the  eve  of  its  dissolution  had  ar- 
rived. Jesus  was  made  under  the  law,  and  felt 
bound  to  fulfil  all  the  moral  and  ceremonial 
enactments  of  Heaven.  Every  moral  and  reli- 
gious duty  that  devolved  upon  the  people,  he 
rigorously  discharged,  as  the  fulfiller  of  all  righ- 


105 


teousness,  until  by  his  death  he  himself  should 
become  the  end  of  the  law  for  all  righteousness 
to  every  one  that  believeth.  The  disciples  made 
ready  for  keeping  the  feast,  little  anticipating 
how  it  was  to  end. 

SECTION  II. THE  ASSEMBLED  COMPANY  AT  SUPPER. 

Jesus  and  the  twelve  apostles  proceeded  to 
this  upper  chamber;  and  it  was  there,  when 
finishing  an  ordinary  meal,  or  the  paschal  sup- 
per (there  have  been  differences  of  opinion  about 
which  it  was),  that  he  said :  "  With  desire  I 
have  desired  to  eat  this  passover  with  you  hefore 
I  suffer  /  for  I  say  unto  you,  I  will  not  any 
more  eat  thereof,  until  it  he  fulfilled  in  the 
kingdom  of  God" 

There  has  been  much  written  in  favor  and 
much  against  the  circumstance  of  Christ  eating 
this  passover.  Some  have  concluded  that  the 
preparation  was  made,  but  the  feast  not  cele- 
brated, as  it  was  the  night  before  the  appointed 
time  for  keeping  the  feast,  and  that  Christ  ac- 
tually died  on  Calvary  at  the  very  time  appoint- 
ed for  killing  the  lambs  for  the  paschal  sacri- 
fice :   consequently  that  they  could  only  have 

5* 


106  CHRISTIAN   ORDINANCES. 

partaken  of  a  common  meal  in  the  upper  cham- 
ber, when  he  disclosed  to  them  the  feelings  with 
which  he  hailed  this  approaching  feast,  and  even 
his  own  sufferings  in  all  that  was  designed  to  be 
set  forth  by  it. 

It  would  be  foreign  to  our  present  object  to 
enter  upon  the  investigation  of  this  particular, 
interesting  as  it  might  be.  We  shall,  therefore, 
briefly  state  what  appears  to  be  a  solution  of 
the  circumstances  which  have  furnished  matter 
for  the  discussion,  and  pass  on  to  the  subject  in 
hand.  The  Jews  were  guided  by  the  appear- 
ance of  the  new  moon,  for  counting  the  days  of 
the  month ;  and  it  so  happened,  that  sometimes 
they  were  not  so  certain  about  the  appearance, 
so  that,  in  reckoning,  there  was  a  difficulty  in 
fixing  on  one  of  two  days.  Such  may  have 
arisen  at  that  period,  and  then  it  was  allowable 
to  keep  the  passover  two  days  successively.  It 
may  be  that  the  Jews  generally  fixed  on  the 
latter  of  the  two,  but  Jesus  may  have  decided 
to  keep  it  on  the  first,  which  perhaps  he  might 
have  known  to  be  the  one  corresponding  with 
the  first  keeping  of  it  in  Egypt.  This,  then, 
would  have  really  brought  Jesus  to  the  house, 
and  he  would  have  kept  the  feast  with  his  apos- 


107 


ties,  as  we  should  understand  lie  did,  from  what 
Luke  records ;  and  then,  at  the  time  when  the 
Jews  would  have  been  offering  up  the  paschal 
lambs  in  sacrifice  on  the  following  day,  Christ 
expired  on  the  cross.  We  can  not  pause  to  ex- 
patiate on  the  Divine  providence  in  all  this,  but 
the  circumstances  will  at  once  impress  our  minds 
with  the  glorious  displays  of  its  admirable  work- 
ings in  these  events.  It  is  probable,  in  that  year, 
that  the  multitude  of  the  Jews  were  not  able  to 
keep  the  feast ;  and  if  some  did  not  on  the  day 
before,  when  we  suppose  Jesus  did,  it  is  likely 
that,  though  the  preparation  was  made,  no  feast 
was  kept. 

In  Dr.  Adam  Clarke's  notes  at  the  close  of 
Matthew  26,  he  says :  "  It  is  more  than  proba- 
ble £hat  the  passover  was  not  eaten  in  the  whole 
land  of  Juclea  on  this  occasion.  The  rending  of 
the  vail  of  the  temple  (Matt.  27 :  51 ;  Mark  15  : 
38  ;  Luke  23  :  45),  the  terrible  earthquake  (Matt. 
27 :  51-54),  the  dismal  and  unnatural  darkness 
which  was  over  the  whole  land  of  Judea  from 
the  sixth  hour  (twelve  o'clock)  to  the  ninth  hour 
(that  is,  three  o'clock  in  the  afternoon),  with  all 
the  other  prodigies  which  took  place  on  this 
awful  occasion,  we  may  naturally  conclude  were 


108  CHRISTIAN   ORDINANCES. 

more  than  sufficient  to  terrify  and  appall  this 
guilty  nation,  and  totally  prevent  the  celebra- 
tion of  the  paschal  ceremonies.  Indeed,  the 
time  in  which  the  killing  of  the  sacrifices,  and 
the  sprinkling  of  the  blood  of  the  lambs,  should 
have  been  performed,  was  wholly  occupied  with 
the  most  dreadful  portents  ;  and  it  would  be  ab- 
surd to  suppose  that,  under  such  terrible  evi- 
dences of  the  Divine  indignation,  any  religious 
ordinances  or  festive  preparations  could  possi- 
bly have  taken  place." 

We  return  from  this  digression  to  contemplate 
Jesus  and  his  apostles  in  the  upper  chamber. 
There,  whether  he  ate  a  common  meal,  or  the 
real  paschal  supper,  we  view  him  as  having 
commanded  all  the  preparation  to  celebrate  the 
institution  of  the  passover ;  and  at  the  close  of 
that  supper  he  thus  addressed  his  apostles: 
"  With  desire  I  have  desired  to  eat  this  passo- 
ver with  you  before  I  suffer ;  for  I  say  unto  you, 
I  will  not  any  more  eat  thereof,  until  it  be  ful- 
filled in  the  kingdom  of  God."  It  is  very  im- 
portant to  observe  how  every  feature  of  this 
commemorative  feast  is  typical  of  its  antitype. 
"  Christ  our  passover  is  slain  for  us." 

The  institution  of  the  Lord's  Supper  was  de- 


109 


signed  to  keep  the  true  paschal  sacrifice,  and 
has  been  religiously  observed  by  Christians  al- 
most generally  from  its  ordination  down  to  the 
present  time.  It  answers  spiritually  the  same 
end  and  purposes  that  were  answered  literally, 
ceremonially,  and  typically,  by  the  ancient  Jew- 
ish paschal  feast.  Therefore  it  may  be  that  we 
shall  often  have  occasion  to  revert  in  the  follow- 
ing pages  to  the  end  and  design  of  certain  things 
in  that  significant  institution,  and  then  look  to 
the  Christian  institution  for  its  corresponding 
features,  the  one  serving  to  illustrate  and  point 
out  what  is  designed  in  the  other.  Thus,  we 
shall  understand  that,  when  the  Lord  said  of  the 
passover,  that  it  should  be  "  an  ordinance  for 
ever,"  is  set  forth  first,  in  the  paschal  lamb  typi- 
cally, the  deliverance  by  Christ  till  the  passion 
and  death  of  Christ;  and  then,  henceforward, 
the  Lord's  Supper,  in  which  bread  and  wine, 
taken  symbolically  in  commemoration  of  his 
crucifixion,  should  be  the  continual  representa- 
tives of  that  sacrifice  to  the  end  of  the  world. 


110  CHRISTIAN    ORDINANCES. 


SECTION    III.' 

SUPPER. 

The  Lord's  Supper,  or  the  antitypical  passo- 
ver,  was  instituted  immediately  upon  eating  in 
the  upper  chamber  with  the  twelve,  where  the 
preparation  had  been  made  for  the  passover. 
Before  the  institution  of  the  ordinance,  the  whole 
of  the  twelve  being  then  present,  Jesus  said, 
"  Yerily,  I  say  unto  you,  one  of  you  shall  be- 
tray me."  The  remark  at  once  filled  the  disci- 
ples with  sorrow  and  concern,  each  apparently 
fearful  lest  he  should  be  the  monster.  At  last, 
Jesus  pointed  out  the  one,  by  the  answer  given 
to  his  question  —  "Master,  is  it  I?"  Jesus  re- 
plied, "Thou  hast  said."  Having  been  dis 
missed  by  the  Saviour,  Judas  entered  upon  his 
diabolical  design  without  delay,  though  arrpa- 
•rently  none  of  the  disciples  understood  for  what 
purpose  he  had  left  the  assembly,  they  suppo- 
sing that  the  object  of  his  business  was  to  pur- 
chase some  things  needful  for  them. 

But  now,  alone  with  the  eleven,  Jesus  in  af- 
fecting language  solemnly  proceeds  to  ordain 
the  sacred  feast,  to  symbolize  his  death.     It  is 


Ill 


recorded :  "  Jesus  took  bread,  and  blessed  it, 
and  brake  it,  and  gave  it  to  the  disciples,  and 
said:  'Take,  eat;  this  is  my  body.'  And  he 
took  the  cup,  and  gave  thanks,  and  gave  it  to 
them,  saying:  'Drink  ye  all  of.it;  for  this  is 
my  blood  of  the  new  testament,  which  is  shed 
for  many  for  the  remission  of  sins.  But  I  say 
unto  you,  I  will  not  drink  henceforth  of  this 
fruit  of  the  vine,  until  that  day  when  I  drink  it 
new  with  you  in  my  Father's  kingdom'  "  (Matt. 
26 :  26-29). 

Some  have  been  of  opinion  that  Judas  had 
not  left  the  company  at  the  administration  of 
the  Lord's  Supper ;  they  consider  their  opinion 
confirmed  by  Luke,  who,  having  related  our 
Saviour's  words  at  its  institution,  says  that  Je- 
sus added,  "  The  hand  of  him  that  betrayeth  me 
is  with  me  on  the  table."  But  it  is  easy  to 
suppose  that  Luke,  in  his  narration,  may  have 
passed  on  from  describing  the  supper  to  the  in- 
stitution of  the  eucharist,  without  stopping  to 
inform  us  of  what  Jesus  said  concerning  Judas, 
and  then  afterward  referred  to  that  saying.  It 
is  certain  the  other  evangelists  lead  us  to  the 
conclusion  that  what  took  place  between  Judas 
and  the  Saviour  was  at  the  supper,  and  that, 


112  CHBISTIAN   OEDINANCES. 

after  his  departure,  the  Lord  proceeded  to  dis- 
pense the  memorials  of  his  body  and  blood. 

Calmet  closes  his  remarks  upon  the  opinion 
of  Judas  being  present  at  the  institution  of  the 
Lord's  Supper  with  the  following  sentences :  "  It 
is,  therefore,  evident  that  Judas  went  out  du- 
ring the  paschal  supper,  but  the  eucharist  was 
not  instituted  till  after  the  paschal  supper  had 
been  concluded ;  and  the  last  action  of  that  sup- 
per was  what  gave  opportunity  to  the  institu- 
tion of  the  new  rite.  To  suppose  that  Jesus 
would  give  to  Judas  the  sacramental  cup  in 
token  of  his  blood,  '  shed  for  the  remission  of 
sins'  —  of  sins  which  Judas  had  traitorously  com- 
mitted, or  which  he  designed  traitorously  to  com- 
mit, is  to  trifle  with-  this  most  solemn  subject; 
and,  indeed,  is  a  contradiction  to  the  evangelist, 
who  says,  '  When  he  [Judas]  was  gone  out,  Je- 
sus said,  "  Now  is  the  Son  of  man  glorified," ' 
&c.  He  then  warned  Peter  of  his  frailty,  and 
all  his  disciples  of  their  instability,"  &c. 


113 


SECTION  IV. 

SUPPER. 


It  is  necessary  that  we  should  consider  what 
elements  Jesus  used  in  this  symbolical  feast. 
They  were  two,  bread  and  wine,  and  were  prob- 
ably among  the  things  which  had  been  provided 
when  Peter  and  John  went  to  make  ready  for 
celebrating  the  feast  of  the  passover. 

The  question  is,  'What  kind  of  bread  was 
this  that  our  Saviour  used  V  To  such  a  ques- 
tion the  answer  is  perfectly  clear,  that  it  was 
unleavened  bread,  though  some  have  disputed 
it.  At  that  time  there  could  have  been  no  other 
bread  in  all  Judea,  it  being  the  first  day  of  un- 
leavened bread,  when  the  Jews,  according  to 
the  command  of  God,  were  to  purge  away  all 
leaven  from  their  houses ;  and,  to  have  diso- 
beyed the  command,  would  have  incurred  the 
penalty  of  being  cut  off  from  the  congregation 
of  Israel :  and,  as  we  have  seen,  Peter  and  John 
had  there,  by  express  command  of  Jesus,  made 
ready  to  keep  the  passover. 

The  allusion  of  Paul  to  the  Divinely-insti- 
tuted custom  of  removing  all  leaven  previously 


114  CHRISTIAN    ORDINANCES. 

to  the  paschal  feast,  is  very  significant,  when 
exhorting  the  Corinthians  to  pnt  away  those 
who  were  engaged  in  wickedness,  and  contrary 
to  true  religion  and  sincerity  in  the  service  of 
Christ :  "  Know  ye  not  that  a  little  leaven  leav- 
eneth  the  whole  lump  ?  Purge  out,  therefore, 
the  old  leaven,  that  ye  may  be  a  new  lump,  as 
ye  are  unleavened.  For  even  Christ  our  pass- 
over  is  sacrificed  for  us ;  therefore  let  us  keep 
the  feast,  not  with  old  leaven,  neither  with  the 
leaven  of  malice  and  wickedness,  but  with  the 
unleavened  bread  of  sincerity  and  truth"  (1  Cor. 
5 :  6-8). 

We  can  not  doubt,  then,  about  what  bread 
the  Saviour  used  in  the  institution  of  this  ordi- 
nance. Nor  can  we  question  for  a  moment  but 
that  unleavened  bread  was  the  most  suited,  as 
typical  of  the  body  of  Christ,  which  was  free 
from  any  contaminating  or  corrupting  princi- 
ple ;  but  that  it  was  used  with  such  a  design  we 
can  not  say.  It  was  the  bread  then  at  hand, 
and  the  only  kind  in  use  :  therefore  it  is  not  so 
easy  to  say  that  any  importance  should  be  at- 
tached to  it. 

But  as  the  ordinance  is  symbolical,  and  the 
bread  used  in  it  designed  to  set  forth  the  body 


115 


of  Christ,  it  might  be  deemed  preferable  to  use 
unleavened  bread  for  commemorating  the  Lord's 
Supper,  though  not  with  any  superstitious  feel- 
ing, such  as  the  papal  church  indulges,  for  their 
wafer  is  a  perversion  of  the  common  significa- 
tion of  eating  bread ;  and  their  doctrine  of  tran- 
substantiation  is  an  exhibition  of  enthusiasm 
amounting  to  insanity. 

There  is,  perhaps,  something  worthy  of  our 
serious  consideration  in  what  Dr.  Adam  Clarke 
has  said  upon  this  subject.  He  remarks :  "  Now 
if  any  respect  should  be  paid  to  the  primitive  in- 
stitution, in  the  celebration  of  this. Divine  ordi- 
nance, then  unleavened,  unyeasted  bread  should 
be  used.  In  every  sign  or  type,  the  thing  sig- 
nifying or  pointing  out  •  that  which  is  beyond 
itself  should  either  have  certain  properties,  or 
be  accompanied  with  certain  circumstances,  as 
expressive  as  possible  of  the  thing  signified. 
Bread,  simply  considered  in  itself,  may  be  an 
emblem  apt  enough  of  the  body  of  our  Lord  Je- 
sus, which  was  given  for  us ;  but  the  design  of 
God  was  evidently  that  it  should  not  only  point 
out  this,  but  also  the  disposition  required  in 
those  who  should  celebrate  both  the  antitype 
and  the  type  ;  and  this  the  apostle  explains  to 


116  CHRISTIAN    ORDINANCES. 

be  sincerity  and  truth,  the  reverse  of  malice 
and  wickedness.  The  very  taste  of  the  bread 
was  instructive :  it  pointed  out  to  every  com- 
municant, that  he  who  came  to  the  table  of  God 
with  malice  or  ill-will  against  any  soul  of  man, 
or  with  wickedness,  a  profligate  or  sinful  life, 
might  expect  to  eat  and  drink  judgment  to  him- 
self, as  not  discerning  that  the  Lord's  body  was 
sacrificed  for  this  very  purpose,  that  all  sin 
might  he  destroyed ;  and  that  sincerity  (eikli- 
rimia),  such  purity  as  the  clearest  light  can 
discern  no  stain  in,  might  be  diffused  through 
the  whole  soul ;  and  that  truth,  the  law  of  righ- 
teousness and  true  holiness,  might  regulate  and 
guide  all  the  actions  of  life.  Had  the  bread 
used  on  these  occasions  been  of  the  common 
kind,  it  would  have  been  perfectly  unfit,  or  im- 
proper, to  have  communicated  these  uncommon 
significations /  aud  as  it  was  seldom  used,  its 
rare  occurrence  would  make  the  emblematical 
representation  more  deeply  impressive,  and  the 
sign,  and  the  thing  signified,  have  their  due 
correspondence  and  influence. 

"  These  circumstances  considered,  will  it  not 
appear  that  the  use  of  common  bread  in  the  sac- 
rament of  the  Lord's  Supper  is  highly  improper  ? 


THE    LORD'S    SUPPER.  117 

He  who  can  say,  '  This  is  a  matter  of  no  impor- 
tance,' may  say,  with  equal  propriety,  'The  bread 
itself  is  of  no  importance  ;'  and  another  may  say, 
i  The  wine  is  of  no  importance  ;'  and  a  third  may 
say,  *■  Neither  the  bread  nor  wine  is  anything, 
but  as  they  lead  to  spiritual  references,  and  the 
spiritual  references  being  once  understood,  the 
signs  are  useless.'  Thus  we  may,  through  af- 
fected spirituality,  refine  away  the  whole  ordi- 
nance of  God  ;  and,  with  the  letter  and  form  of 
religion,  abolish  religion  itself.  Many  have  al- 
ready acted  in  this  way,  not  only  to  their  loss, 
but  to  their  ruin,  by  showing  how  profoundly 
wise  they  are  above  what  is  written.  Let  those, 
therefore,  who  consider  that  man  shall  live  by 
every  word  which  proceeds  from  the  mouth  of 
God,  and  who  are  conscientiously  solicitous  that 
each  Divine  institution  be,  not  only  preserved, 
but  observed  in  all  its  original  integrity,  attend  to 
this  circumstance.  The  Lutheran  church  makes 
use  of  unleavened  bread  to  the  present  day." 

Wine  was  the  other  element  introduced  at 
the  time  of  the  institution  of  this  ordinance  — 
whether  red  or  white,  it  is  not  said.  The  best 
wine  was  ordered  to  be  used  at  the  passover, 
and  the  red  generally  was  esteemed  such.     In 


118  CHRISTIAN   ORDINANCES. 

the  absence  of  direct  proof,  it  is  more  reasona- 
ble to  come  to  the  conclusion  that  it  was  red, 
the  pure  blood  of  the  grape — that  which  was 
suited  to  bear  so  far  the  true  resemblance  of 
blood,  designed  to  typify  the  blood  of  Jesus 
Christ.  Some  have  concluded  that  it  was  mixed 
with  water.  So  early  as  Justin  Martyr's  time, 
this  had  come  into  use,  and  superstitious  and 
fanciful  notions  have  been  entertained  about  its 
representing  the  blood  and  water  which  flowed 
from  the  side  of  Christ  when  pierced ;  but  with 
these  opinions  we  have  nothing  to  do.  Jesus 
tells  us  the  wine  symbolized  his  blood,  and  this 
is  enough  for  us  to  contemplate  in  the  wine. 

Of  these  two  elements,  Dr.  John  Gill  thus 
writes :  "  Now  the  bread  and  the  wine,  being 
two  separate  articles,  may  denote  and  show 
forth  the  death  of  Christ :  the  body  or  flesh  be- 
ing separated  from  the  blood,  and  the  blood 
from  that  in  which  the  life  is,  death  follows ; 
and  these  being  distinctly  attended  to,  is  expres- 
sive of  that  separation ;  and  yet  both  together 
make  a  feast,  and  afford  nourishment,  refresh- 
ment, and  delight.  With  food  there  must  be 
drink,  and  when  with  bread,  wine — both  made 
a  banquet." 


119 


SECTION    Y. THE    FORM    OF    ADMINISTERING    THE 

BREAD. 

In  this  feature  of  the  sacred  rite  to  which  our 
attention  is  now  directed,  every  word  strikes  us 
as  of  importance,  and,  when  connected  in  their 
sentences,  give  the  full  force  of  the  true  design 
of  the  institution. 

Three  of  the  evangelists  describe  it  in  their 
gospels,  and  they  sweetly  harmonize  in  their 
accounts.  They  clearly  prove  how  they  regard- 
ed the  institution  of  that  wondrous  feast — in 
which  they  endeavor  to  give  the  sentences  as 
uttered  by  the  lips  of  the  Saviour.  Added  to 
these  descriptions,  we  have  an  account  by  Paul, 
so  distinct  in  all  its  parts,  and  orderly  in  its  ar- 
rangement, that,  as  we  read  his  account,  the 
event  seems  as  reacted  before  us.  He  says: 
"  For  I  have  received  of  the  Lord  that  which 
also  I  delivered  unto  you,  that  the  Lord  Jesus, 
the  same  night  in  which  he  was  betrayed,  took 
bread :  and  when  he  had  given  thanks,  he  brake 
it,  and  said,  '  Take,  eat :  this  is  my  body,  which 
is  broken  for  you :  this  do  in  remembrance  of 
me.'     After  the  same  manner  also  he  took  the 


120  CHRISTIAN    ORDINANCES. 

cup,  when  lie  had  supped,  saying,  'This  cup  is 
the  new  testament  in  my  blood :  this  do  ye,  as 
oft  as  ye  drink  it,  in  remembrance  of  me,'  "  To 
the  above,  Paul,  as  an  inspired  apostle  of  Jesus 
Christ,  and  of  course  by  the  Spirit  of  inspiration 
directing  him,  adds :  "  For  as  often  as  ye  eat 
this  bread,  and  drink  this  cup,  ye  do  show  the 
Lord's  death  till  he  come.  "Wherefore,  whoso- 
ever shall  eat  this  bread,  and  drink  this  cup  of 
the  Lord,  unworthily,  shall  be  guilty  of  the  body 
and  blood  of  the  Lord.  But  let  a  man  examine 
himself,  and  so  let  him  eat  of  that  bread,  and 
drink  of  that  cup.  For  he  that  eateth  and  drink- 
eth  unworthily,  eateth  and  drinketh  damnation 
to  himself,  not  discerning  the  Lord's  body" 
(1  Cor.  11 :  23-29). 

The  first  act  was  to  take  the  bread,  bless  it, 
or  give  thanks  and  break  it.  He  took  it  and 
made  it  the  symbol  of  his  own  body,  not  by 
any  literal  formation  or  likeness  —  it  was  still 
bread  in  his  hands,  the  unleavened  bread  as  used 
for  the  passover.  Let  his  taking  it  into  his  own 
hands  lead  us  to  think  of  the  voluntary  offering 
of  himself  a  sacrifice  unto  God.  He  blessed 
it,  or  gave  thanks.  From  the  circumstance  of 
its  being  found,  in  Matthew's  gospel,  that  "  He 


121 


blessed  it,"  some  have  thought  that  he  did  bless 
the  bread,  and  this  was  sanctifying  it  to  the  use 
to  which  it  was  to  be  applied ;  but  it  is  not  so. 
The  word  it  should  not  have  been  supplied — it 
ought  not  to  have  been  there.  He  blessed  God, 
or  gave  thanks  to  God,  is  the  true  intent  of  the 
passage. 

Jesus  here  followed  the  constant  Jewish  cus- 
tom of  acknowledging  God  as  the  author  of  ev- 
ery good  and  perfect  gift,  by  giving  thanks  on 
taking  the  bread,  and  also,  afterward,  on  taking 
the  cup.  Every  Jew  was  forbidden  to  eat, 
drink,  or  use  any  of  God's  creatures,  .without 
rendering  him  thanks ;  and  he  who  acted  con- 
trary to  this  command,  was  considered  as  a  per- 
son who  was  guilty  of  sacrilege.  On  taking  the 
bread,  they  say,  "Blessed  be  thou,  our  God,  the 
King  of  the  xmiverse,  who  bring  est  forth  bread 
out  of  the  earth  /"  And,  on  taking  the  cup, 
they  say,  "Blessed  be  thou,  our  God,  the  King 
of  the  universe,  the  Creator  of  the  fruit  of  the 
vine  /" 

He  "  brake  it" — that  is,  the  bread,  which  was 
thin,  hard,  and  brittle ;  it  needed  not  a  knife  to 
cut  it,  and  a  knife  was  never  used  for  such  pur- 
pose by  the  Jews.     But  little  is  thought  of  this 


122  CHRISTIAN    ORDINANCES. 

act :  it  is  considered  of  no  importance  in  what 
way  the  bread  first  appears  on  the  Lord's  table  ; 
and,  for  convenience,  it  is  generally  cut  into 
pieces,  the  administrator  thinking  it  sufficient 
to  divide  these  pieces  into  smaller  ones,  and  in 
some  instances  to  dispense  even  with  that  act. 
But  it  can  not  be  dispensed  with  in  the  rightful 
administration,  for  the  bread  in  its  first  appear- 
ance on  the  table  is  symbolical,  and  in  its  bro- 
ken pieces  is  symbolical.  The  bread,  of  what- 
ever shape  or  size,  should  be  a  whole  loaf,  not 
cut  or  pared  in  any  way.  In  this  bread,  the 
Lord  first  presented  his  whole  body  —  not  yet 
bruised  nor  broken  for  the  sin  of  man,  but  free 
from  any  bruised,  or  pierced,  or  divided  form, 
and  then  not  fit  to  be  eaten,  as  not  being  of  any 
nourishing  or  saving  benefit  to  sinners.  But, 
in  breaking  it,  he  showed  forth  what  he  was  to 
suffer  in  making  atonement  upon -Calvary  ;  and 
it  appears  to  be  a  very  important  feature  in  the 
ordinance  that  this  should  be  solemnly  attended 
to,'  in  the  presence  of  the  assembled  communi- 
cants :  let  them  see,  by  the  symbol,  the  whole 
body,  and  so  have  communion  with  Christ  in 
his  death  and  sufferings.  And,  were  it  only 
from  one  of  the  names  by  which  this  wondrous 


123 


institution,  as  a  symbolical  act,  is  often  desig- 
nated by  inspired  penmen  in  the  Scriptures, 
namely,  "  breaking  of  bread,"  it  were  enough 
for  every  administrator  duly  to  observe  it. 

The  bread  being  broken,  we  have  its  distri- 
bution and  address  to  the  receivers.  "  He  gave 
it  to  his  disciples."  It  was  a  gift ;  and  who  can 
contemplate  the  mercy  and  grace  made  known 
in  this  gift,  without  being  inspired  with  love 
and  gratitude  to  the  Giver?  He  "  gave  himself 
for  us,  an  offering  and  a  sacrifice  to  God,"  and 
he  gave  himself  to  his  people,  that  in  all  the 
riches  of  his  glory,  the  magnitude  of  his  perfec- 
tions, the  completeness  of  his  obedience,  and 
the  intenseness  of  his  agonies,  he  might  be 
theirs.  The  wealth  of  worlds  could  not  pur- 
chase what  this  broken  bread  set  forth  as  given 
to  the  disciples.  No  powers  could  have  effect- 
ed the  surrender,  which  was  the  voluntary  act 
of  our  blessed  Jesus,  when  "  he  who  was  rich, 
for  our  sakes  became  poor,  that  we  through  his 
poverty  might  be  rich."  All  the  blessings  of 
God  to  man  are  set  forth  in  this  gift,  wherein 
the  broken  body  of  Christ  is  symbolized  in  this 
broken  bread,  distributed  by  the  hand  of  the 
dear  Redeemer.     The  act  was  voluntary,  the 


12 J:  CHRISTIAN   ORDINANCES. 

grace  amazing,  the  worth  beyond  all  price,  and 
the  blessing  infinite. 

But  hear  the  address  with  which  the  gift  was 
accompanied:  "Take,  eat:  this  is  my  body, 
which  is  broken  for  you :  this  do  in  remem- 
brance of  me."  In  the  immediate  prospect  of 
his  agony  and  bloody  sweat,  his  cross  and  pas- 
sion, did  the  dear  Lord  and  Saviour  thus  bles- 
sedly set  forth  the  mystery,  and  in  this  strain 
of  compassion  did  he  address  the  disciples. 

The  receiving  and  eating  the  broken  bread 
are  nothing,  even  when  taken  in  the  prescribed 
form  of  the  ordinance  of  the  Lord's  Supper,  un- 
less faith  discerns  the  mysteries  intended  to  be 
conveyed  thereby ;  faith  must  discover  that 
which  is  spiritual  in  every  word  and  every  act. 
It  is  Christ's  body,  not  literally,  as  we  have  be- 
fore observed  —  the  bread  is  bread  still  —  it  is 
broken  bread  to  show  forth  a  broken  Christ,  and 
this  with  a  definite  object — "ftroken"  says  the 
Saviour,  "for  you"  The  substitutionary  death 
of  Christ  is  here  plainly  declared — he  died  for 
his  people  ;  and  who  can  thus  commemorate  the 
Lord's  Supper  without  having  the  Eye  upon 
him  !  He  is  rememoered  /  the  whole  scene  of 
his  humiliation,  and  suffering,  and  death,  passes 


the  lord's  supper.  125 

as  in  review  before  the  contemplative  mind ; 
and  the  condescension,  love,  and  grace,  of  the 
Lord  Jesus  Christ,  fixes  the  adoring  spirit,  while 
it  exclaims,  ''He  gave  himself  for  me  P 

SECTION    VI. THE    FORM    OF    ADMINISTERING    THE 

WINE. 

Jesus  proceeded  to  take  the  cup,  after  his  dis- 
tribution of  the  bread,  and  address  to  the  apos- 
tles, and  in  the  same  way  as  with  the  bread  he 
proceeded  to  give  thanks  to  God. 

Whether  the  grapes  had  long  been  bruised 
and  compressed  in  the  wine-vat,  and  the  liquid 
wrung  out,  or  whether  done  at  that  time,  and 
forced  out  into  the  cup  for  use,  we  are  not  in- 
formed ;  therefore  the  particulars  relating  to  the 
wine,  further  than  what  is  declared  by  the  evan- 
gelists, is  not  of  importance  for  us  to  know,  and 
we  can  safely  leave  all  considerations  and  in- 
quiries, that  may  arise  connected  with  it,  as  un- 
profitable speculation. 

He  took  the  cup  into  his  own  hands  and  gave 
thanks.  It  was  the  symbol  of  his  blood.  It 
was  not  for  his  own  comfort  or  consolation  or 
salvation   that   he   held   it   in    his   hands   and 


126  CHRISTIAN    ORDINANCES. 

thanked  God.  No  —  the  crip  of  trembling  and 
of  wrath  was  for  him ;  the  cup  he  was  about  to 
drink  contained  a  terrible  draught,  indeed,  as 
Justice  put  it  into  his  hand  that  same  night,  in 
the  garden  of  Gethsemane,  when  prostrate  with 
his  face  to  the  ground,  he  prayed  these  affecting 
words  :  "  O  my  Father,  if  it  be  possible,  let  this 
cup  pass  from  me :  nevertheless,  not  as  I  will, 
but  as  thou  wilt."  And  again  :  "  O  my  Father, 
if  this  cup  may  not  pass  away  from  me,  except 
I  drink  it,  thy  will  be  done."  The  cup  of  poi- 
son was  put  into  his  hand;  it  contained  the 
deadly  draught,  which  we  merited  by  sin,  but 
he  took  it  for  us  and  drank  it  to  the  very  dregs 
in  his  death.  But  in  this  institution  of  mercy, 
he  takes  into  his  hands  the  cup  of  mercy  for 
man,  and  thanks  God  for  such  a  cup :  though 
symbolical  of  his  own  blood  in  death,  yet  it  was 
the  cup  of  salvation  to  give  to  his  people. 

He  gave  it  to  his  disciples,  saying :  "  Drink 
ye  all  of  it.  For  this  is  my  blood  of  the  new 
testament,  which  is  shed  for  many  for  the  re- 
mission of  sins.  But  I  say  unto  you,  I  will  not 
drink  henceforth  of  this  fruit  of  the  vine,  until 
that  day  when  I  drink  it  new  with  you  in  my 
Father's  kingdom."     It  is  with  apparent  empha- 


THE    LORD  S    SUPPER. 


127 


sis  that  the  Saviour  enjoins  the  personal,  indi- 
vidual act  of  drinking:  "Drink  ye  all  of  it." 
It  is  therefore  not  one  of  the  elements  only,  but 
both,  which  are  to  be  taken  in  the  Lord's  Sup- 
per— -the  cup  being  essential  to  this  solemn 
feast;  and  it  appears  to  be  distinguished  and 
marked  by  our  Lord,  that  (if  we  may  so  speak) 
it  should  be  regarded  as  the  very  essence  of  the 
institution. 

The  paraphrase  of  the  original  wording  of  this 
part  of  the  address  of  the  Saviour,  by  Dr.  Adam 
Clarke,  is  particularly  expressive :  "For  this  is 
that  blood  of  mine,  which  was  pointed  out  by 
all  the  sacrifices  under  the  Jewish  law,  and  par- 
ticularly by  the  shedding  and  sprinkling  of  the 
blood  of  the  paschal  lamb ;  that  blood  of  the 
sacrifice  slain  for  the  ratification  of  the  new  cov- 
enant;  the  blood  ready  to  be  poured  out  for 
the  multitudes,  the  whole  Gentile  world  as  well 
as  the  Jews,  for  the  taking  away  of  sins  —  sin, 
whether  original  or  actual,  in  all  its  power  and 
guilt,  in  all  its  internal  energy  and  pollution? 

The  cup  was  the  symbol,  in  Christ's  blood,  of 
the  new  testament.  New  testament  means  no 
other  than  the  new  covenant.  The  legal  or  old 
covenant  was  sealed  bv  the  blood  of  the  beasts 


128  CHRISTIAN    ORDINANCES. 

offered  up  to  God  in  sacrifice,  and  was  only  for 
the  ceremonial  and  outward  purification,  and 
remission  of  sins.  But  the  new  covenant,  often 
distinguished  by  the  title  "  covenant  of  grace," 
was  sealed  and  established  by  the  death  of 
Christ,  through  whom  alone  spiritually  men  can 
draw  nigh  unto  God. 

Dr.  Lightfoot  remarks  upon  this  expression 
of  the  Saviour,  that  "  this  my  blood  of  the  new 
testament"  is  "  not  only  the  seal  of  the  cove- 
nant, but  the  sanction  of  the  new  covenant ; 
the  end  of  the  Mosaic  economy,  and  the  con- 
firming of  a  new  one.  The  confirmation  of  the 
old  covenant  was  by  the  blood  of  bulls  and 
goats  (Exodus  24 — Hebrews  9),  because  blood 
was  still  to  be  shed  :  the  confirmation  of  the  new 
was  by  a  cup  of  wine,  because  under  the  new 
covenant  there  is  no  further  shedding  of  blood. 
As  it  is  here  said  of  the  cup,  '  This  cup  is  the 
new  testament  in  ?ny  blood,'  so  it  might  be  said 
of  the  cup  of  blood  (Exodus  24),  '  That  cup  was 
the  old  testament  in  the  blood  of  Christ' " 

It  was  blood  "  which  was  shed  for  many,"  or 
"  poured  out  for  many,"  that  the  cup  of  wine 
symbolized.  Here  the  significant  act  of  the 
sacrifice  of  lambs,  whose  blood  was  poured  out 


129 


at  the  foot  of  the  altar,  comes  before  our  view. 
The  work  of  blood-shedding  formed  a  consider- 
able part  of  the  priests'  office,  generation  after 
generation.  Paul  observes  :  "  Almost  all  things 
are  by  the  law  purged  with  blood ;  and  without 
shedding  of  blood  is  no  remission"  (Hebrews  9  : 
22).  Christ  was  God's  lamb,  the  one  of  his  own 
appointing  to  be  offered  up  in  sacrifice ;  and  in 
contemplation  of  this,  the  inspired  prophet  says : 
"  We  did  esteem  him  stricken,  smitten  of  God, 
and  afflicted ;"  and  again,  "  He  is  brought  as  a 
lamb  to  the  slaughter,  and  as  a  sheep  before 
her  shearers  is  dumb,  so  he  openeth  not  his 
mouth ;"  also,  again,  "  He  hath  "poured  out  his 
soul  unto  death"  (Isaiah  53 :  4,  7,  12). 

Can  we  look  into  Gethsemane  on  that  memo- 
rable night,  and  see  the  immaculate  Lamb  of 
God,  bound  by  law  and  justice,  and,  as  in  the 
agonies  of  death,  witness  the  blood  in  large 
drops  pouring  down  this  mystic  sacrifice,  after 
that  the  heavenly  Father  had  said,  as  foretold 
in  prophetic  language  by  Zechariah  (13:  7) — 
"  'Awake,  O  sword,  against  my  shepherd,  and 
against  the  man  that  is  my  fellow,'  saith  the 
Lord  of  hosts"  —  and  not  understand  the  import 
of  what  the  precious  Saviour  set  forth,  when  he 

6* 


130  CHRISTIAN    ORDINANCES. 

said,  "This  is  my  blood  of  the  new  testament, 
which  is  poured  out  for  many"?  O  that  our 
comprehensions  may  not  only  embrace  the  truth 
conveyed,  but  that  our  dull,  cold  hearts  may  be 
quickened  to  go  forth  in  the  warmth  of  devout 
affection  to  that  blessed  Jesus,  "  who  gave  him- 
self an  offering  and  a  sacrifice  to  God  of  a  sweet- 
smelling  savor,"  when  "  he  poured  out  his  soul 
unto  death,  and  was  numbered  with  the  trans- 
gressors ;  and  bare  the  sin  of  many,  and  made 
intercession  for  the  transgressors" ! 

It  was  for  many  that  he  shed  or  poured  out 
his  blood.  To  the  many  we  are  fully  justified 
in  adding  people  or  nations.  The  sacrifice  of 
Christ  was  not  confined  to  one  nation,  as  were 
the  ceremonial  sacrifices  under  the  law.  When 
the  paschal  lamb  was  slain  in  Egypt,  it  was  not 
observed  beyond  the  boundary  of  the  habita- 
tions of  the  Israelites.  The  blood  of  the  victim 
was  not  sprinkled  upon  the  door-posts  or  lintels 
of  any  other  houses  but  those  inhabited  by  the 
Israelites.  The  destroying  angel  that  night  had 
respect  to  none  other  in  Egypt  but  the  houses 
bearing  the  signs  of  blood  as  prescribed,  and 
no  others  went  free  to  serve  the  Lord  but  those 
whom  he  spared.     But  now,  in  the  antitypical 


131 


paschal  sacrifice — in  Christ  our  passover  slain 
for  us  —  we  have  many  nations.  The  prophet 
emphatically  marks  this  out  as  a  distinctive  fea- 
ture in  Christ's  sufferings  and  death :  "So  shall 
he  sprinkle  many  nations"  (Isaiah  52  :  15).  His 
blood  and  his  gospel  are  for  all  who  believe 
among  the  nations  of  the  earth. 

He  states  that  the  definite  object  in  the  shed- 
ding of  his  blood  for  many  was,  "  for  the  remis- 
sion of  sins."  Sin,  in  the  Scriptures,  is  often 
spoken  of  as  the  obligation  of  a  debt.  Sin  com- 
mitted was  the  act  of  incurring  certain  obliga- 
tions to  God,  for  which  the  law  of  God  held  the 
sinner  responsible.  The  law  relaxes  nothing, 
but  demands  the  full  payment,  which  is  impos- 
sible for  the  sinner  to  make.  Let  us,  for  the 
sake  of  illustration,  suppose  a  case  that  neither 
does,  nor  from  the  nature  of  things  can  exist : 
let  us  suppose  an  individual  having  once  sinned, 
but  retaining  the  entire  power  to  lead  a  perfect 
life,  and  never  more  to  transgress  against  God : 
the  individual,  by  such  a  course,  could  not  re- 
lieve himself  from  former  obligation. 

Such  is  the  true  nature  of  "  remission  of  sins  ;" 
therefore  remission  was  often  referred  to  the 
sabbatical  year,  the  year  of  iubilee,  when  all  in 


132  CHRISTIAN    ORDINANCES. 

the  land  of  Judea  were  released  from  their  obli- 
gations. The  one  who  had  sold  himself  was  no 
longer  in  bondage — he  became  a  free  man; 
and  they  who  had  sold  their  estates  had  them 
again  restored.  It  was  the  law  of  God:  "Ye 
shall  hallow  the  fiftieth  year,  and  proclaim  lib- 
erty throughout  all  the  land,  unto  all  the  inhab- 
itants thereof:  it  shall  be  a  jubilee  unto  you, 
and  ye  shall  return  every  man  unto  his  posses- 
sion, and  ye  shall  return  every  man  unto  his 
family"  (Leviticus  25 :  10).  "Ajphesis"  rendered 
"  remission,"  signifies  to  announce  liberty  to  the 
captive,  to  release  the  obligation  of  a  debt.  But 
"  the  remission  of  sins"  was  not  to  be  a  favor 
shown  by  the  violation  of  law,  or  at  the  expense 
of  justice  ;  therefore,  both  in  the  Old  Testament 
and  in  the  New,  it  is  connected  with  sacrifice. 
Paul,  in  referring  to  the  blood  of  the  sacrifice 
under  the  law,  says,  "  Without  shedding  of  blood 
is  no  remission"  (Hebrews  9  :  22)  —  that  is,  until 
the  proper  sacrifices  were  offered,  the  priest 
could  not  pronounce  the  transgressor  free  from 
the  consequences  of  his  transgressions.  So,  un- 
der the  gospel  dispensation,  which  the  Mosaic 
typified  :  the  Lamb  was  offered  up  —  that  Lamb, 
the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  called  "  the  Lamb  of  God, 


133 


which  taketh  away  the  sin  of  the  world."  Full 
satisfaction  was  given  to  law  and  justice,  and 
God's  honor  and  glory  were  maintained,  by  such 
an  infinite  sacrifice  as  the  person  of  God's  dear 
Son.  His  blood  was  shed  for  many,  for  the  re- 
mission of  sins,  which  the  cup  of  wine  symbol- 
ized as  given  in  that  sacred  feast  to  the  disci- 
ples. 

The  verbal  form  of  this  wondrous  institution 
we  have  as  briefly  noticed  as  the  importance  of 
the  subject  would  allow.  The  object  has  not 
been  in  this  to  controvert  the  many  erroneous 
practices,  perversions,  and  doctrines,  which  have 
obtained  footing  among  professing  Christians  in 
relation  to  this  ordinance ;  but  a  simple  and 
concise  setting  forth  of  what  the  primitive  or- 
der and  wording  conveyed.  These,  faithfully 
and  sincerely  followed,  will  correct  all  abuses 
much  more  successfully  than  the  greatest  dis- 
play of  talented  argument  brought  forward  in 
refutation  of  errors  which  men  who  depart  from 
the  faith  insidiously  propagate. 


134:  CHRISTIAN   ORDINANCES. 


SECTION    VII. THE    TIME    FOR    OBSERVING   THIS    SA- 
CRED  FEAST. 

The  time  when  Christ  instituted  the  breaking 
of  bread,  as  a  sacred  feast  for  future  ages  to  ob- 
serve till  he  come,  was  on  "  the  same  night  in 
which  he  was  betrayed"  —  the  night  when,  for 
the  last  time,  he  went  to  celebrate  the  feast  of 
the  passover.  In  connection  with  that  feast,  the 
new  ordinance  was  given  and  commanded  for 
future  observance.  It  is  certain  that  it  was  de- 
signed to  supersede  the  passover,  and  is  spoken 
of  as  such.  It  is  essential  to  the  nature  of  laws, 
that  the  new  ones  should  repeal  the  old  whose 
place  they  are  designed  to  take.  The  feast  of 
the  Lord's  Supper  was  instituted  to  set  forth,  for 
the  future,  that  which  the  paschal  feast  typified, 
as  well  as  to  commemorate  an  event  in  the  his- 
tory of  the  people.  Upon  this  ground,  Paul,  in 
speaking  of  the  Lord's  Supper,  says :  "  Christ 
our  passover  is  slain  for  us ;  therefore,  let  us 
keep  the  feast." 

From  that  time  the  breaking  of  bread  was  cele- 
brated on  the  first  day  of  the  week,  by  the  apos- 
tles and  first  disciples  of  Christ.    It  is  true  that 


135 


Christ  lias  not  enjoined  any  particular  time  for 
its  observance  :  all  that  he  has  said  is,  "This  do 
in  remembrance  of  me  ;"  and  an  inspired  apostle 
has  made  it  clear  that  this  applies  to  both  the 
bread  and  wine  —  that,  as  oft  as  they  did  it,  it 
was  to  be  in  remembrance  of  Christ.  But  we 
suppose  that  the  apostles  understood  this  to  be 
a  part  of  Divine  service  under  the  Christian  dis- 
pensation; for  which  reason,  it  may  be,  they 
uniformly  observed  it  on  the  Lord's  day. 

We  read  that,  when  Paul  came  to  Troas,  he 
tarried  there  seven  days.  This  evidently  ap- 
pears to  be  with  a  design,  which  is  set  forth — 
leaving,  beyond  all  doubt,  that  it  was  to  meet 
with  the  disciples  when  they  assembled  for  wor- 
ship. It  is  said,  "  And  on  the  first  day  of  the 
week,  when  the  disciples  came  together  to  break 
bread,  Paul  preached  unto  them,  ready  to  de- 
part on  the  morrow."  Here  it  is  evident  that 
the  first  day  of  the  week  was  a  day  set  apart  for 
Christian  worship,  and  that  the  principal  object 
regarded  was  the  Lord's  Supper,  but  not  to  the 
exclusion  of  the  other  institutions  of  Christ.  We 
are  not  told  that  they  came  together  to  read, 
pray,  or  praise  —  though  these  things  doubtless 
were  engaged  in — but  to  break  bread. 


136  CHRISTIAN   ORDINANCES. 

Paul,  in  his  first  epistle  to  the  Corinthians, 
says  :  "  When  ye  come  together  into  one  place, 
this  is  not  to  eat  the  Lord's  Supper ;  for  in  eat- 
ing, every  one  taketh  before  others  his  own  sup- 
per," &c.  These  remarks  evidently  were  for 
the  correction  of  abuses  of  a  disgraceful  charac- 
ter, in  commemorating  that  sacred  feast.  But 
it  may  be  said  that  no  time  is  specified  here 
when  they  did  it,  only  that  it. was  wdieri  they 
came  together ;  but  in  the  sixteenth  chapter  he 
tells  us  expressly  that  it  was  on  the  first  day  of 
the  week  that  they  did  come  together. 

Turning  from  apostolic  times  to  the  days  of 
Justin  Martyr  (he  wrote  about  forty -four  years 
after  the  death  of  the  apostle  John),  he  says : 
"  On  Sunday,  all  Christians  in  the  city  and  coun- 
try meet  together,  because  it  is  the  day  of  our 
Lord's  resurrection,  and  then  we  hear  read  to  us 
the  waitings  of  the  prophets  and  apostles.  This 
done,  the  president  makes  an  oration  to  the  as- 
sembly, to  exhort  them  to  imitate  and  do  the 
things  they  hear ;  and  then  we  all  join  in  prayer ; 
and  after  that  we  celebrate  the  Lord's  Supper, 
and  they  that  are  willing  and  able  give  alms." 
We  see,  then,  that  it  was  the  uniform  practice 
of  the  first  disciples  in  the  Christian  dispensa- 


137 


tion.  The  Holy  Spirit  doubtless  caused  these 
things  to  be  written  for  our  instruction,  and  this 
primitive  practice  restored  would  doubtless  be 
for  the  spiritual  advantage  of  the  church  of 
Christ. 

It  is  said  we  have  no  command  so  to  keep  it. 
To  which  we  may  reply,  we  have  no  command 
to  keep  the  first  day  of  the  week.  The  obser- 
vances go  together  in  the  New  Testament.  The 
same  arguments  which  might  be  used  to  over- 
throw the  weekly  observance  of  the  Lord's  Sup- 
per, would  also  subvert  the  sanctification  of  the 
Lord's  day.  If  we  take  the  scripture  example 
(lor  there  is  no  express  command  to  guide  us), 
the  two  must  be  observed  and  sustained  togeth- 
er or  fall  together ;  nothing  justifies  the  weekly 
regard  of  one,  and  the  laying  aside  of  the  other, 
but  the  fanciful  whims  of  men. 

But  we  revert  again  to  the  time  of  the  insti- 
tution, when  ordained  by  Christ  for  another 
purpose.  It  had  the  same  correspondence  in 
relation  to  the  Christian  dispensation  as  that  of 
the  passover  had  to  the  Jewish.  It  was  for 
commemoration  after  they  were  brought  out 
of  Egypt,  though  the  passover  was  kept  and  in- 
stituted for  their  deliverance  while  bondmen. 


138  CHRISTIAN    ORDINANCES. 

There  is  the  exact  analogy  in  the  institution  of 
the  Supper:  the  Jewish  dispensation  had  not 
passed  away  on  that  memorable  night — it  was 
the  eve  of  its  dissolution.  The  blood  was  not 
then  shed  for  the  remission  of  sins,  and  in  that 
sense  they  were  not  free.  We  can  not  now 
dwell  upon  this,  but  the  position  will  be  fully 
sustained  in  the  next  section. 

Let  it  suffice  that  we  ask, '  What  could  be  the 
meaning  of  the  words  of  the  Saviour,  when  he 
said  to  the  disciples,  "  I  will  not  drink  hence- 
forth of  this  fruit  of  the  vine,  until  that  day 
when  I  drink  it  new  with  you  in  my  Father's 
kingdom"  V  Evidently  there  is  an  allusion  to 
the  new  dispensation  just  about  to  be  intro- 
duced, which  will  be  fully  proved  when  we 
come  to  consider  it  more  largely.  Then  what 
is  the  meaning  of  such  passages  as  the  follow- 
ing :  "  Now  once  in  the  end  of  the  world  hath 
He  appeared  to  put  away  sin  by  the  sacrifice  of 
himself"  ?  The  expression  "  end  of  the  world" 
we  know  signifies  the  end  of  the  age  or  dispen- 
sation. This,  then,  is  the  sense  of  the  passage : 
'In  the  end  of  the  Jewish  dispensation  hath  He 
appeared  to  abolish  the  sin-offering  by  the  sac- 
rifice of  himself?     He  put  an  end  to  the  Mo- 


139 

saic  economy  by  the  one  offering  of  himself. 
The  time,  then,  of  the  institution  of  the  Supper, 
was  undoubtedly  at  the  closing  of  the  Jewish 
dispensation,  and  the  approaching  of  the  Chris- 
tian. 

SECTION   VIII. THE   ENDS    ANSWERED    IN   EATING 


In  the  observance  of  this  institution,  certain 
definite  objects  are  designed,  of  considerable 
moment ;  they  are  severally  set  forth  by  the 
Saviour  himself,  and  by  the  apostle  Paul.  It 
was  to  be  done  by  the  disciples  of  Jesus,  so  far 
as  concerned  themselves,  in  memory  of  their 
dear  Lord  ;  so  far  as  others  may  be  regarded,  it 
was  to  symbolize  his  death  till  he  come.  Thus 
it  has  respect  in  these  two  objects  to  the  disci- 
ples of  Jesus,  and  the  world  at  large  to  which 
the  gospel  was  now  to  be  published. 

As  a  memento  to  the  disciples  of  the  blessed 
Jesus,  how  imposing  and  affecting !  It  sets 
forth  his  mercy :  he  saw  us  in  our  sinful  degra- 
dation under  the  oppressive  nature  of  our  ser- 
vitude, and  was  moved  to  pity.  Jesus  had  our 
grief  at  heart,  for  such  we  are  to  consider  the 


140  CHRISTIAN    ORDINANCES. 

signification  of  mercy.  In  the  true  sufferings 
of  our  natural  estate,  God  and  Christ  had  pity 
toward  us.  The  mercy  of  Christ  was  equal  with 
the  mercy  of  the  Father  and  the  Holy  Spirit, 
wh  n  the  plan  was  laid  for  salvation,  in  which 
the  Lord,  the  mighty  Saviour,  engaged  to  be- 
come human,  to  deliver  through  death  from  the 
bondage  of  sin  and  death :  — 

"  With  pitying  eyes  the  Prince  of  Peace  beheld  our  helpless  grief; 
He  saw,  and  oh!  amazing  love,  he  ran  to  our  relief." 

It  is  a  memento  of  his  love  —  such  love  as 
brought  him  into  direct  union  and  contact  with 
suffering  creatures.  Love  led  him  to  take  a  hu- 
man body,  to  redeem  and  save.  The  love  of 
God  shone  conspicuously  in  the  manner  of  his 
espousing  the  cause  of  his  people  while  suffer- 
ing in  Egypt,  and  the  judgments  by  which  he 
avenged  their  wrongs  upon  their  oppressors. 
The  love  of  Jesus  shines  to  all  eternity,  by 
espousing  the  cause  of  his  people,  and  so  com- 
ing into  union  with  them  as  to  be  like  one  of  a 
family,  or  the  husband  of  a  wife.  It  is  said, 
"  Forasmuch,  then,  as  the  children  are  partakers 
of  flesh  and  blood,  he  likewise  took  part  of  the 
same"  (Hebrews  2 :  14).  The  symbols  of  this 
flesh  and  blood   are  here.     Mark   his  words : 


141 


"This  is  my  bocty,  which  is  broken  for  yon"  — 
"  This  is  my  blood  of  the  new  testament,  which 
is  shed  for  many." 

It  were  love,  indeed,  snch  as  history  never 
yet  chronicled,  which ^oulcl  bring  a  prince  from 
his  throne,  and  from  the  splendor  of  his  palace, 
surrounded  by  obedient  and  admiring  attend- 
ants, to  dwell  with  the  meanest,  suffering  pau- 
per of  his  dominion  —  a  rebel,  too,  to  mingle 
with  his  suffering  state,  and  take  his  sorrows. 
But  the  Prince  of  heaven  did  this ;  and  when 
love  brought  him  from  the  highest,  uncreated 
glory,  to  the  lowest  state  of  suffering  creation, 
it  is  recorded  himself  took  our  infirmities  and 
bore  our  sicknesses.  It  therefore  was  a  me- 
mento of  his  love  —  "  love  which  passeth  knowl- 
edge," exclaimed  the  apostle  Paul.  Love  made 
him  the  surety  for  his  people,  and  it  was  the 
intense  love  of  his  heart  which  led  him  to  say, 
"  I  lay  down  my  life  for  the  sheep,"  &c.  Again  : 
"  Greater  love  hath  no  man  that  this,  that  a  man 
lay  down  his  life  for  his  friends.  Ye  are  my 
friends  if  ye  do  whatsoever  I  command  you." 
And  again :  "  Henceforth  I  call  you  not  ser- 
vants; for  the  servant  knoweth  not  what  his 
Lord  doeth  :  but  I  have  called  you  friends ;  for 


142  CHRISTIAN    ORDINANCES. 

all  things  that  I  have  heard  of  my  Father,  I 
have  made  known  unto  you." 

It  was  a  memento  of  his  grace.  He  was  full 
of  grace.  Grace  resides  in  Jesus  as  waters  in  a 
fountain,  and  grace  went  forth  from  him  as  the 
spontaneous  stream  from  the  spring.  He  wTas 
grace  itself;  the  lovely  Jesus  was  fairer  than 
the  sons  of  men,  and  as  Paul  describes  him  (in 
Hebrews  1 :  3),  he  was  "  the  brightness  of  the 
Father's  glory,  and  the  express  image  of  his 
person."  His  very  speech  was  savored  with 
grace  ;  truly  did  they  say  who  listened  to  his  dis- 
course, "  Never  man  spake  like  this  man"  (John 
7 :  46).  The  freeness  of  his  favor  and  love,  as 
he  communicated  the  intent  of  his  heart,  and 
displayed  it  in  all  his  conduct,  fixed  itself  upon 
the  souls  of  his  disciples,  and  they  could  not 
but  love  him  supremely.  He  is  indeed  still  to 
every  real  believer  "  the  chiefest  among  ten 
thousand"  —  "the  altogether  lovely." 

By  this  sacred  feast  the  benefits  secured  and 
conferred  are  brought  to  remembrance.  "  Christ 
gave  himself  for  us !"  exclaim  the  worshipping 
souls,  "  and  these  elements  are  a  memorial  to 
us."  The  whole  of  his  life  and  his  death,  with 
the  merciful  and  gracious  design  therein  of  free- 


143 


dom  from  the  bondage  of  sin  and  death ;  liberty 
to  serve  God  in  newness  of  life ;  the  establish- 
ment of  peace  with  God  ;  the  adoption  of  sons ; 
the  remission  of  sins,  with  justification,  sancti- 
fication,  and  glory.  What  a  remembrancer  is 
this  sacred  feast !  what  blessed  reflections,  when 
we  come  by  faith  to  break  bread  and  drink  of 
the  cup !  There  our  blessed  Lord  is  seen,  and 
it  is  good  to  be  there. 

But,  secondly,  there  is  the  exhibition  of  a 
momentous  truth  before  others.  It  sets  forth 
His  death  till  he  come.  The  symbols  of  flesh 
and  blood  are  here  separate  —  the  flesh  set  forth 
by  the  bread,  the  blood  by  the  wine  in  the  cup. 
Blood  poured  out  and  separated  from  the  body 
is  death.  The  emblems,  then,  show  for,th  death. 
It  is  the  death  of  the  Son  of  God — not  a  mere 
man,  but  God's  only-begotten  Son  —  concerning 
whom  he  again  and  again  bore  testimony  that 
he  was  well  pleased.  The  death  was  a  terrible 
death,  as  the  elements  proclaimed.  There  was 
bread  broken  to  pieces  ;  he  was  broken,  as  torn 
by  nails,  and  scourges,  and  spears ;  they  made 
long  furrows  in  his  back,  they  pierced  his  hands 
and  his  feet,  and  all  his  bones  were  out  of  joint. 
He  was  broken  in  spirit,  and  "  a  wounded  spirit 


14A:  CHRISTIAN    ORDINANCES. 

who  can  bear  ?"  He  was  broken  in  heart :  it  is 
asserted  that  he  died  literally  of  a  broken  heart. 
Oh,  what  anguish  in  his  death,  as  he  cried,  "  My 
God,  my  God,  why  hast  thou  forsaken  me  ?" 

The  wine  showed  forth  that  he  died  a  terrible 
death,  for  it  was  produced  by  the  bruising  and 
compressing  of  the  grape,  which  is  of  so  many- 
separate  drops.  The  aggregate  in  the  cup  was 
made  up  of  such  drops ;  and  Jesus,  in  agony, 
pressed  in  the  winepress  of  the  wrath  of  God 
and  justice,  "sweat  as  it  were  great  drops  of 
blood." 

It  commemorates  the  sacrifice  of  Christ  for 
sinners.  He  was  oifered  up,  not  for  himself, 
but  for  the  sins  of  his  people.  "  He  died,  the 
just  for  £be  unjust,  to  bring  sinners  to  God." 
His  sacrificial  death  had  this  object  in  it,  "the 
remission  of  sins."  The  paschal  sacrifice  set 
forth  the  release  of  the  people  from  the  hand  of 
their  oppressors.  This  sacrifice  shows  forth  to 
men  the  only  way  by  which  they  can  be  set  free 
from  the  bondage  of  sin  and  death.  The  act  of 
commemorating  the  death  of  Christ  in  the  sa- 
cred rite  of  the  Lord's  Supper,  is  a  declaration 
of  the  only  way  of  salvation,  and  of  the  only 
ground  of  solid  hope  for  the  sinner,  being  in  the. 


the  lord's  supper.  145 

death  of  Him  who  suffered,  to  bring  us  to  God. 
Here  is  displayed  the  only  method  by  which 
God  will  forgive  the  sins  of  the  guilty,  and  show 
favor  to  such  as  deserve  his  wrath. 

It  displays  the  efficacy  of  His  atonement. 
There  were  many  things  wrought  by  the  hands 
of  Moses,  in  judgment  upon  the  Egyptians.  But 
it  was  the  passover  that  secured  the  release  of 
the  Israelites ;  it  was  that  judgment  upon  the 
wicked,  and  that  favor  to  God's  people,  which 
procured  their  freedom.  It  was  once  done,  and 
done  for  ever.  The  commemoration  annually 
was  all  that  followed  to  set  forth  to  succeeding 
ages  what  God  had  wrought  for  his  people. 
Christ  died  but  once.  "He  appeared  in  the 
end  of  the  world,"  or  dispensation,  "to  put 
away  sin  by  the  sacrifice  of  himself."  — "  For 
in  that  he  died,  he  died  unto  sin  once  ;  but.  in 
that  he  liveth,#  he  liveth  unto  God."  —  "For 
Christ  also  hath  once  suffered  for  sins,  the  just 
for  the  unjust,  that  he  might  bring  us  to  God." 
The  repetition  of  sacrifices  for  sin  under  the  law 
showed  that  sin  was  not  put  away,  only  cere- 
monially ;  but  Christ  having  suffered  once,  to 
die  no  more,  declares  in  the  showing  forth  that 
"sin  is  really  atoned  for. 
1 


146  CHRISTIAN    ORDINANCES. 

The  setting  forth  of  His  death  in  this  institu- 
tion is  a  silent  but  impressive  way  of  preaching 
the  gospel.  It  tells  the  convicted  of  a  salvation 
provided,  and  an  atonement  made,  and  it  woos 
the  soul  of  the  penitent  to  embrace,  by  faith,  Je- 
sus crucified  for  remission  of  sins,  justification, 
salvation,  and  glory.  This  showing  forth  his 
death  is  like  the  lifting  up  of  the  brazen  serpent 
in  the  wilderness,  upon  which  the  bitten  and 
dying  Israelites  might  look  and  live.  Such 
were  the  objects  designed  to  be  set  forth  in  the 
sacred  supper  of  the  Lord. 

SECTION  IX. THE  RIGHTFUL    SUBJECTS   TO  ENGAGE 

IN    IT. 

We  have  now,  in  a  few  closing  remarks,  to 
take  some  brief  notice  of  the  rightful  subjects 
to  participate  in  the  celebration  of  the  Lord's 
Supper.  As  there  is  a  correspondence  between 
it  and  the  passover-feast,  so  there  might  be  ex- 
pected a  correspondence  between  the  people 
who  kept  the  one  and  the  other,  and  so  we  find. 
The  blood  was  to  be  upon  the  door-posts  and 
the  lintels  of  the  houses  of  the  Israelites.  So 
the  blood  of  Christ  must  be,  by  faith,  upon  the 


147 


consciences  and  hearts  of  such  as  commemorate 
his  sacrificial  death. 

The  institution  of  the  Lord's  Supper  was  for 
all  his  disciples  who  lived  by  faith  upon  him, 
thus  discerning  the  ends  of  infinite  mercy,  love, 
and  grace,  in  the  institution.  Where  there  could 
be  such  a  discernment  by  faith  of  the  sacrificial 
death  of  Christ,  and  reliance  upon  his  atoning 
sacrifice  for  remission  of  sins,  there  were  to  be 
found  the  rightful  subjects  to  commemorate  his 
death.  The  symbols  are  spread  out,  and  Jesus 
says,  'Eat,  O  friends  —  drink,  O  beloved!' 

The  Scriptures  demand  no  other  qualification, 
in  coming  to  the  Lord's  Supper,  but  faith  in  the 
mysteries  symbolized  by  the  elements.  He  who 
discerneth  not  the  Lord's  body  and  blood  is  the 
unworthy  communicant,  and  eateth  and  drink- 
eth  condemnation  unto  himself.  But  he  whose 
faith  apprehends  the  blessed  doctrines  of  salva- 
tion by  Christ  crucified,  and  is  feeding  by  that 
faith  upon  these  mysterious  glories,  is  a  worthy 
communicant.  Christ  enjoined  no  other  quali- 
fication, the  apostles  demanded  no  other,  and 
we  have  no  right  to  institute  any  other.  There 
are  other  things  desirable  to  observe,  but  none 
other  essential,  or  enjoined  in  the  word  of  God, 


148  CHRISTIAN   ORDINANCES. 

but  faith.  But  we  shall  have  occasion  to  dwell 
more  fully  on  this  when  treating  of  those  duties 
which  it  is  desirable  for  every  Christian  to  ob- 
serve in  coming  to  the  Lord's  table. 

When  our  blessed  Lord  had  gone  over  these 
solemnities  of  the  sacred  feast  which  established 
it  a  Christian  ordinance,  he  with  his  disciples 
sang  a  hymn  of  praise  for  the  goodness  and  mer- 
cy of  God,  and  left  the  sacred  spot  for  scenes 
which  filled  their  hearts  with  sorrow  and  ama- 
zing agonies,  and  which  brought  the  Saviour  to 
that  death  he  had  just  symbolized  out  in  the 
feast.  The  hymn  spoken  of  was  probably  the 
recitative  chant  used  by  the  Jews  at  the  feast, 
which  was  Psalms  113-118. 

Who  could  find  in  his  heart,  if  rightly  influ- 
enced by  the  Holy  Spirit,  a  disposition  to  thrust 
away  any  sincere  soul  from  commemorating  the 
dying  love  of  his  Lord  and  Saviour,  and  from 
having  fellowship  with  Christ  in  his  sufferings? 
The  greatest  violence  must  be  done  to  every 
sensibility  of  the  renewed  soul  and  sanctified 
heart  to  do  it.  There  must  be  the  hardening  of 
the  heart,  toward  not  only  the  disciples  of  Jesus, 
but  toward  him  also,  to  shut  out  any  devoted 
follower  from  participation  in  this  sacred  feast. 


PART    IV. 


THE   CHRISTIAN   CHURCH 


SECTION    I. PRELIMINARY   OBSERVATIONS. 

In  the  foregoing  chapters,  it  appears  that 
many  errors  and  misconceived  opinions  have 
gained  ground  extensively  with  the  professing 
Christian  church  in  relation  to  the  two  symboli- 
cal ordinances  which  are  given  to  us  by  Christ 
himself.  That  the  errors  are  not  all  on  one  side 
or  with  one  section  of  the  Christian  church  in 
the  world,  but,  upon  close  investigation,  with 
every  section,  more  or  less  in  some  particulars, 
is  evident ;  all  of  which  have  arisen  from  false 
constructions  put  upon  the  letter  of  the  ordi- 
nances, or  a  combination  of  the  two  in  a  manner 
never  designed,  and  which,  when  fairly  exam- 
ined, they  do  not  admit. 


150  ECCLESIASTICAL   OBSERVANCES. 

But  while  these  things  must  have  become 
undeniable  to  every  serious,  honest,  reflecting 
mind,  they  have  been  brought  out  and  exhibit- 
ed, not  so  much  by  any  argument — for  this  has 
been  studiously  avoided — but  by  the  simple 
exhibition  of  the  institutions,  with  their  bear- 
ings, as  set  forth  in  the  Scriptures.  These  means 
must  be  eventually  successful,  for  sooner  or  later 
every  error  must  fall  before  truth,  and  truth, 
alone  shall  stand. 

But  it  is  in  the  present  and  following  lectures 
that  the  fallacy  of  restricted  communion,  which 
some  baptists  so  strenuously  advocate,  will  be 
brought  out  and  exposed.  The  strength  of  their 
position  lies  upon  the  consideration  that  the  com- 
mission, which  embraces  the  institution  of  bap- 
tism, and  the  practice  of  the  apostles,  is  every- 
thing needed  to  give  authority  for  the  course 
they  adopt.  They  say  :  *  We  are  first  to  preach ; 
then  baptize  the  believer  into  the  faith  of  the 
gospel,  in  the  name  of  the  Trinit}',  by  immersing 
in  water;  then  receive  him  into  the  church — 
and,  as  the  Lord's  Supper  is  a  church  ordinance, 
so  to  the  table  of  the  Lord.  This  is  the  only 
way  we  know  of,  and  the  only  thing  we  prac- 
tise., 


THE   CHRISTIAN   CHURCH.  151 

This  may  appear  to  be  authority  to  many,  and 
so  simple  and  truthful  as  not  to  allow  of  a  doubt 
as  to  the  correctness  of  the  position  taken.  But 
it  assumes  no  more  weight  in  defence  of  restrict- 
ed communion  than  a  small  particle  of  dust  does 
upon  the  scale  of  the  balance.  Supposing  the 
verbal  statement  to  be  sustained  as  to  the  prac- 
tice laid  down  in  the  New  Testament,  has  it  any- 
thing to  do  with  the  spirit  and  design  of  the  in- 
stitution? If  that  be  misunderstood  and  lost 
sight  of,  of  what  force  is  a  verbal  arrangement  ? 
And  suppose  the  notion  of  a  church  now  is 
perfectly  contrary  to  the  notion  of  a  church  as 
Christ  and  his  apostles  regarded  it,  and  suppose 
that  in  the  scriptural  view  of  a  church,  it  ap- 
pears that  disciples  were  of  the  church  of  Christ 
before  they  were  baptized,  and  that  the  much- 
talk  of  their  being  "  added  to  the  church  after 
baptism"  was  only  that  welcome  with  which 
visible  followers  of  Christ  will  receive  others 
when  their  conversion  becomes  manifest  —  then 
what  becomes  of  the  authority  assumed,  and 
where  is  the  truthfulness  of  this  kind  of  stereo- 
typed order  about  which  there  is  apparently 
such  triumphant  boasting? 

If  the  arguments  put  forth  by  restricted-corn- 


152  ECCLESIASTICAL   OBSERVANCES. 

munion  baptists  in  defence  of  their  practice  be 
correct,  and  according  to  the  spirit  of  Christ, 
then  they  are  in  no  way  reconcilable  with  the 
wording  and  spirit  of  his  institutions,  for  in 
them  he  has  nowhere  even  implied  a  depen- 
dence one  upon  the  other;  they  have  distinct 
bearings,  and  must  necessarily  be  viewed  sepa- 
rate, in  order  that  they  may  be  suitably  observed. 
Yet,  while  Clirist  has  never  bound  them  togeth- 
er, men  have  ventured  to  make  them  fast  by  a 
sort  of  vital  cord  or  ligament.  If  restricted- 
communion  baptists  have  Christ's  authority  for 
excluding  any  disciple  of  his  from  communing 
at  his  table,  then  they  have  authority  to  make 
men  disobey  a  positive  institution  Of  his — a 
standing  ordinance  for  the  Christian's  obser- 
vance to  the  end  of  time  ;  while  the  wording  of 
the  institution  never  so  much  as  makes  allusion  to 
any  preliminary  qualification  but  faith  in  Christ 
as  the  Saviour.  Their  position,  substantiated, 
can  be  nothing  less  than  Jesus  Christ  versus  Je- 
sus Christ,  and  a  kingdom  divided  against  itself. 
Ifow  this  can  not  be.  Clirist  can  not  command 
an  institution  to  be  observed,  and  yet  give  au- 
thority to  some  to  make  those  to  whom  the  com- 
mand applies  nullify  it  against  their  consent : 


THE    CHRISTIAN    CHURCH.  153 

well,  then,  it  must  be  evident  that  officious  men 
have  mistaken  their  commission,  and  thereby  at- 
tempted to  make  the  word  of  God  of  none  effect. 
We  have  now  to  turn  to  the  consideration  of 
a  Christian  church,  that  will  bring  out  more 
fully  the  basis  of  all  Christian  obligations,  and 
the  relative  nature  of  all  the  ordinances  of 
Christ.  It  is  upon  the  scriptural  nature  of  a 
church,  and  not  upon  any  artificial  combination 
of  society  suggested  by  man,  that  the  views  we 
entertain  of  church  ordinances  must  stand  or 
fall ;  so,  also,  the  rightful  subjects  to  participate 
in  such  ordinances  must  be  those,  and  only  those, 
pointed  out  by  the  Lord  himself. 

SECTION    H. THE    ETYMOLOGY    OF    THE    WORD 

"  CHURCH." 

It  is  necessary  to  take  into  consideration,  at 
the  outset  of  our  inquiry,  the  etymology  of  the 
term  church  /  also  the  proper  signification  of 
the  original  of  that  word.  These  are  essential 
in  leading  us  to  the  proper  conclusion  of  what 
the  Scriptures  set  forth,  when  we  find  the  word 
church  used  in  relation  to  a  Christian  society, 
as  much  as  the  signification  of  the  word  baptize 


154  ECCLESIASTICAL    OBSERVANCES. 


is  determined  by  an  appeal  to  the  original  Greek 
word  baptizo. 

Church  or  kirk  is  precisely  the  same  word  in 
a  varied  orthography.  Kirk  is  still  retained 
by  the  Scotch;  but  church  is,  by  corruption, 
from  the  Saxon  kirik,  changing  the  hard  c  in 
eh.  These  words  kirik  and  kirk  are  from  the 
Greek  words  kuriou  oikos,  which  is  "  house  of 
the  Lord,"  and  which  refers  to  some  of  the 
primitive  assemblies  in  houses,  such  as  that  in 
Philemon's,  of  which  Paul  thus  writes :  "  The 
church  in  thy  house."  These  Greek  words  be- 
came contracted  into  kurioik  and  kuriake,  from 
which  we  have  the  Saxon  kirik,  or  church,  and 
the  Scotch  kirk.  The  above  has  relation,  then, 
to  assemblies  for  worship  in  houses,  which  were 
not  unfrequent  in  primitive  times,  especially 
where  there  were  but  few  Christians  in  a  town 
or  district. 

In  another  sense  the  word  church  has  been 
used,  from  the  most  remote  period,  to  represent 
the  Greek  term  ekklesia,  which  often  occurs  in 
the  New  Testament,  which  was  adopted  into 
the  Latin  language  without  any  change,  and 
which  gives  us  our  words  ecclesiastics  and  eccle- 
siastical, corresponding  with  the  Saxon  terms 


THE  CHRISTIAN    CHURCH.  155 

churchmen  and  of  churchmen.  The  meaning 
of  the  word,  among  classical  Greek  writers,  is 
meeting,  or  assembly ;  and  in  this,  or  the  some- 
what modified  sense  of  community,  it  was  adopt- 
ed by  the  writers  of  the  New  Testament.  Meet- 
ing or  assembly  may  apply  to  any  congregation 
of  people,  good  or  bad  ;  therefore  the  nature  of 
it  is  to  be  understood  from  connecting  circum- 
stances. Some  have  derived  it  immediately 
from  the  Hebrew  word  kel,  an  assembly,  which 
in  the  Old  Testament  is  most  commonly  trans- 
lated congregation,  but  sometimes  multitude, 
company,  &c. ;  so  that  the  word  kel  came  to  be 
a  kind  of  appellative  by  which  the  Israelites 
were  designated,  and  distinguished  from  Moses 
and  Aaron  their  leaders,  and  are  therefore  fre- 
quently denominated  "the  congregation  of  Is- 
rael," "  the  congregation  of  the  Lord,"  and  this 
is  the  most  extensive  application  of  the  word. 

The  word  elchlesia,  which  for  the  most  part 
we  translate  church  throughout  the  New  Testa- 
ment, seems  to  be  derived  from  ekkaleo,  to  call 
out  of,  or  from;  and  is  commonly  applied  to 
an  assembly  of  citizens,  or  a  company  gathered 
out  of  a  multitude  by  a  civil  magistrate  or  some 
of  the  existing  authorities,  which  would  be  called 


156  ECCLESIASTICAL   OBSERVANCES. 

a  lawful  assembly  ;  but  if  otherwise  convened, 
for  riotous  purposes,  it  would  bear  the  designa- 
tion of  an  unlawful  assembly.  Such  was  the 
mob,  or  confused  assembly,  which  we  read  of  in 
Acts  19 — which,  through  the  excitement  cre- 
ated by  one  Demetrius,  a  silverworker,  at  Ephe- 
sus,  against  Paul,  a  tumultuous  assembly  wa8 
raised,  which  having  been  appeased  by  the  ju- 
dicious interference  of  the  town-clerk,  the  as- 
sembly was  quietly  dispersed  from  the  theatre 
where  they  had  been  convened,  with  the  advice 
that,  if  any  just  complaint  could  be  made  against 
Paul  and  his  companions,  it  should  be  deter- 
mined in  ennomo  eklclesia,  a  lawful  assembly. 

The  word  eJcJdesia,  then,  requires  some  other 
word  or  words  conjoined,  to  convey  any  idea 
of  the  nature  of  the  assembly.  In  its  appropri- 
ated application  to  a  religious  use,  it  is  "  the 
church  of  God" — the  congregation  collected  by 
God,  and  devoted  to  his  service.  The  church 
of  Christ  comprises  the  whole  company  of  Chris- 
tians, wheresoever  found ;  because  by  the  preach- 
ing of  the  gospel  they  are  called  out  of  the 
spirit  and  maxims  of  the  world :  and  refers  like- 
wise to  all  small  assemblies  convened  in  the 
name  of  Jesus  Christ,  to  worship  and  serve  him. 


THE   CHRISTIAN    CHURCH.  157 


SECTION    in. USE   OF   THE    TEEM 

THE   SCRIPTURES. 

Here  let  us  investigate  the  use  of  the  term 
church  in  the  sacred  Scriptures,  as  describing 
religious  congregations.  It  is  necessary  to  state 
that  it  is  now  very  seldom  regarded  as  originally 
applied;  and  this  is  one  principal  reason  why 
many  who  are  sincere,  but  who  have  not  de- 
voted their  attention  to  the  use  of  ecclesiasti- 
cal phrases,  have  often  sustained  certain  opin- 
ions which  they  have  conceived  to  be  correct, 
from  the  false  construction  put  upon  the  terms 
used  by  the  Holy  Spirit  in  the  Scriptures,  or 
by  wresting  words  from  their  originul  meaning, 
to  make  them  bear  some  other  meaning. 

Clnistianity  became  corrupt  by  designing 
men,  more  or  less  led  by  the  evil  spirit,  from 
its  earliest  establishment.  The  Christian  dis- 
pensation was  no  sooner  introduced  among  men, 
than  Satan  made  some  successful  attempts  to 
mar  it,  as  he  did  the  beautiful  creation  of  God 
at  the  first  in  man's  transgression.  Whenever 
ambitious  or  designing  men  have  wished  to  es- 
tablish their  dogmas,  they  have  done  so  by  falsi- 


158  ECCLESIASTICAL   OBSERVANCES. 

fying  the  meaning  of  scripture  language :  they 
have  corrupted  the  word  of  God  so  as  to  make 
it  of  none  effect.  Nearly  all  error  is  traceable 
to  this. 

Power  and  authority  have  been  exercised  in 
the  church  by  misconstruction  of  the  Scriptures. 
Then,  under  this  assumed  bearing  of  the  word 
of  God,  men  have  boldly  asserted  such  power 
and  authority  to  be  from  God,  and  that  which 
has  followed  upon  it  has  been  written  in  blood. 
The  assumption  of  power,  as  expressly  delegated 
by  God  to  men  from  the  Scriptures,  has  led 
them  to  coerce  to  uniformity  in  all  things  ;  what- 
ever their  corrupt  minds  have  invented,  they 
have  either  sought  to  maintain  these  notions  as 
the  word  of  God,  or  deducible  therefrom.  As- 
suming the  power  to  constrain  to  submission, 
even  when  conscience  has  declared  against  the 
subscription  to  their  proposed  terms,  or  doc- 
trines, they  have  dealt  out  vengeance  to  the  full 
upon  the  declared  contumacious. 

Thousands  of  the  conscientious  children  of 
God  and  of  the  true  spiritual  church  have  en- 
dured the  most  cruel  punishments  that  Satan 
could  invent,  and  even  suffered  the  most  tor- 
menting deaths  by  the  command  of  the  so-called 


THE   CHRISTIAN   CHURCH.  159 


high  authorities  over  the  church  of  Christ.  But 
these  prominent  monsters,  who  have  trampled 
on  and  destroyed  God's  beautiful  heritage,  are 
not  the  only  individuals  to  be  noticed. 

It  is  an  ingredient  of  fallen  humanity  to  de- 
sire to  rule  and  coerce ;  and  according  to  the 
facilities  for  exercising  power,  and  the  want  of 
gracious  influence  to  restrain  from  seeking  one's 
own  ways  and  doing  one's  own  works,  so  it  has 
ever  been  made  manifest  in  religious  matters. 
Errors  in  doctrine  and  practice  have  been  en- 
forced, and  persecution  in  some  shape  or  other 
has  been  the  penalt}7  of  non-compliance,  from 
his  exalted  holiness,  the  so-called  vicar  and  apos- 
tle of  Jesus  Christ,  the  pope,  down  to  the  mod- 
est, unassuming  baptist,  who  in  all  meekness 
and  lowliness  of  mind  esteems  others  better 
than  himself.  He,  too,  professes  to  take  Christ 
for  his  example,  and  piously  declares  that  he 
has  delegated  authority  to  open  and  to  shut  up 
the  door  to  the  feast  of  the  kingdom  of  heaven 
to  whomsoever  he  pleases :  and  here  is  the  true 
secret  of  restricted  communion. 

The  use,  or  rather  the  abuse,  of  the  term 
church,  has  not  been  among  the  least  of  the  er- 
rors which  has  brought  schisms,  heresies,  and  a 


160  ECCLESIASTICAL   OBSERVANCES. 

long  list  of  evils  in  their  train,  such  as  debates, 
envyings,  wraths,  strifes,  backbitings,  whisper- 
ings, swellings,  tumults ;  it  has  been  foremost 
in  them  all,  the  vanguard  of  a  terrible  army. 
The  unscriptural  uses  of  the  term  church  at  the 
present  time  are  many.  For  example,  every 
denomination  bearing  the  Christian  name  as- 
sumes the  title  of  church;  so  that  there  are 
constant  rival  (so-called)  churches,  each  aiming 
at  ascendency,  in  some  cases  aided  by  political 
governments,  and  in  others  striving  together 
for  mastery.  And  who  does  not  see  that  all  the 
evils  enumerated  above,  and  many  more,  have 
sprung  out  of  the  misapplication  of  the  term 
church  to  the  multiplied  denominations  of  Chris- 
tians? ■  ;  . 

Then  there  are  minor  divisions  of  these  sev- 
eral heads  of  various  shades  holding  a  diversity 
of  doctrine.  Under  these  distinctions,  numbers 
are  grouped,  hoisting  alike  their  banner  of  strife. 
Take,  for  instance,  the  baptist  denomination,  in 
respect  to  one  association  of  that  body,  viz.,  the 
"  Hudson  River  Association."  A  respectable 
pastor  of  that  body  silenced  the  scruples  of  an 
individual,  whose  views  of  doctrine  did  not  com- 
port with  the  articles  of  faith  subscribed  to  by 


THE   CHRISTIAN    CHURCH.  161 

that  association,  by  saying  that  the  churches  in 
that  body  varied  so  much,  one  from  the  other, 
in  doctrinal  views,  that  every  shade  might  be 
found  there,  from  churches  holding  hyper-Cal- 
vinism to  the  lowest  doctrines  of  Arminianism : 
all  these  are  organized  bodies  under  the  dis- 
tinctive name  of  baptist  churches.  But  is  there 
any  authority  for  the  use  of  the  term  "  church" 
for  any,  from  the  papal  dominion  down  to  the 
smallest  baptist  conventicle,  where  a  few  are 
enrolled  as  members  of  a  church,  bound  by 
laws  partly  Divine  and  partly  human,  covenant- 
ed together  as  organized  churches?  We  say, 
"  To  the  wrord  and  the  testimony  ;"  and  we  shall 
soon  find  how  the  word  has  been  perverted  to  a 
sense  in  which  the  Holy  Ghost  never  used  it. 

The  term  church,  under  whatever  circum- 
stance used  in  scripture,  has  no  application  to 
those  combinations  of  Christians  as  existing  in 
the  present  day.  They  had  their  bishops  and 
deacons,  but  they  were  not  organized  bodies, 
covenanted  together  in  what  is  called  "  church 
relationship,"  with  names  entered  in  church- 
registers,  and  consisting  only  of  such  individuals 
thus  bound  together,  who  had  put  themselves 
under  certain  regulations  of  human  invention. 


162  ECCLESIASTICAL   OBSERVANCES. 

Call  them  combinations  of  Christians,  if  yon 
please ;  regard  them  as  religions  societies,  com- 
pacted by  man,  and  not  by  God ;  look  upon 
them  as  worthy  Christians  where  their  conduct 
justifies  it — they  have  engaged  together  to 
worship  God,  as  in  the  general  holding  the  same 
views,  and  are  combined  to  sustain  and  help  for- 
ward certain  religious  institutions  for  the  ad- 
vancement of  the  kingdom  of  Christ  among  men : 
but,  if  we  designate  them  churches,  we  miscall 
them ;  we  circumscribe  our  ideas  of  the  term 
church  by  doing  so ;  and  we  make  the  church 
the  society  of  man,  whereas,  God  the  Holy  Spir- 
it declares  it  to  be  the  congregation  of  God  or 
of  Christ. 

Here  is  an  error  fruitful  to  an  incalculable 
degree,  bearing  a  multitudinous  progeny,  de- 
structive of  all  that  is  good.  What  we  call 
"  churches1'  are  in  truth  nothing  but  combina- 
tions of  professedly  religious  bodies;  and,  until 
we  see  this,  we  shall  never  be  right  in  our  ideas 
of  churches,  or  the  duties  of  churches. 


THE   CHRISTIAN    CHURCH.  163 


SECT.   IV. THE  BODIES  DISTINGUISHED  UNDER  THE 

TITLE    "CHURCH"    IN   THE   SCRIPTURES. 

Look  at  the  churches,  or  some  of  them,  which 
shall  serve  to  describe  the  whole,  in  the  sense 
in  which  scripture  has  pointed  them  out. 

In  its  most  extended  latitude,  the  term  church 
embraces  the  whole  family  of  God  (called  out 
from  the  world  and  the  spirit  of  the  world  by 
the  Holy  Spirit,  visible  or  invisible  to  us,  from 
the  days  of  Adam  onward  to  the  end  of  time), 
who  are  redeemed  unto  God  by  the  blood  of  his 
Son  —  comprehended  under  the  idea  of  a  nu- 
merous family,  of  which  Christ  is  the  head,  as 
it  is  recorded,  "  He  is  the  head  of  the  body,  the 
church"  (Colossians  1 :  18).  It  is  said  :  "  Christ 
loved  the  church,  and  gave  himself  for  it;  that 
he  might  sanctify  and  cleanse  it  with  the  wash- 
ing of  water  by  the  word.  That  he  might  pre- 
sent it  to  himself  a  glorious  church,  not  having 
spot,  or  wrinkle,  or  any  such  thing ;  but  that  it 
should  be  holy  and  without  blemish"  (Ephesians 
5  :  25-27).  So,  in  Hebrews  (12  :  23),  it  is  said : 
"Ye  are  come  to  the  general  assembly  and 
church  of  the  first-born,  which  are  written  in 


164:  ECCLESIASTICAL    OBSERVANCES. 

heaven,  and  to  God  the  Judge  of  all,  and  to  the 
spirits  of  just  men  made  perfect."  These  pas- 
sages embrace  the  universal  church ;  they  treat 
of  the  whole  redeemed  family  unto  God  by  the 
blood  of  Jesus. 

It  is  used  in  reference  to  the  Jewish  church, 
the  whole  professing  community  and  nation  as 
a  people  called  out  and  brought  out  of  Egypt, 
to  go  into  Canaan.  That  nation,  as  distinguished 
from  other  nations,  as  the  people  of  God,  and  a 
nation  who  worshipped  and  served  the  only  liv- 
ing and  true  God,  were  so  designated ;  and  for 
this  reason,  it  may  be,  that  the  Hebrew  word 
%el  came  to  be  a  kind  of  appellative  by  which 
the  Israelites  were  designated,  and  frequently 
denominated  the  "  congregation  of  Israel,"  the 
"  congregation  of  the  Lord,"  the  "  church  in  the 
wilderness,"  &c. 

What  we  generally  denominate  the  Jewish 
church,  or  the  church  of  God  under  the  Jewish 
dispensation,  is  designated  a  house  over  which 
Moses  was  appointed  as  servant,  as  explained 
by  Paul :  "  Moses  verily  was  faithful  in  all  his 
house  as  a  servant  for  a  testimony  of  those  things 
which  were  to  be  spoken  after"  (Hebrews  3  :  5). 
Moses  was  not  the  builder  or  maker  of  the  church 


THE    CHRISTIAN    CHURCH.  165 

(or,  as  it  is  in  the  above  quotation,  house),  but  a 
faithful  servant,  observing  everything  enjoined, 
for  all  was  typical  of  the  Christian  church,  as 
well  as,  that  in  their  own  existence  they  were 
the  church  of  God — the  called-out  to  be  his.  pe- 
culiar people,  and  to  show  forth  his  praise  among 
men. 

The  term  church,  as  applied  to  the  Israelites, 
is  to  be  regarded  in  a  twofold  point  of  view. 
The  whole  nation,  as  an  outwardly  professing 
people  in  religious  observances,  were  called  the 
church/  but  the  true  church,  as  spiritually 
called  out  from  the  world,  were  within  this  ex- 
ternal :  there  was  a  church  within  a  church — 
all  were  not  Israel  which  were  of  Israel ;  nei- 
ther, in  the  true  sense  of  the  spiritual  church, 
were  all  embraced  who  were  the  descendants 
of  Judah,  for  "  he  is  not  a  Jew  that  is  one  out- 
wardly." 

It  is  used  in  reference  to  the  whole  commu- 
nity of  professing  Christians,  but  not  acknowl- 
edged so  by  the  Lord.  He  has  truly  marked 
out  the  distinction  between  a  nominal  church 
and  a  spiritual  church.  The  church  of  Christ, 
under  the  Christian  dispensation,  is  no  national 
church,  but  universal  as  applied  to  all  who  are 


166  ECCLESIASTICAL   OBSERVANCES. 

disciples  of  Christ,  and  who  savingly  do  believe 
in  him.  Extensive  as  may  be  any  Christian  so- 
ciety bearing  a  denominational  name,  it  can  not 
properly  bear  the  title  of  catholic  church;  it  is 
only  part,  at  best,  of  the  universal  church,  and 
there  is  great  absurdity  on  the  part  of  the  papal* 
church  in  assuming  the  term  catholic.  The  uni- 
versal church  is  specially  referred  to  by  Jesus, 
when  he  said  to  Peter,  in  alluding  to  his  ac- 
knowledgment of  the  Messiah,  and  confession 
of  the  doctrine  of  Christ —  "  Upon  this  rock  will 
I  build  my  church."  Upon  such  an  acknowl- 
edged faith  as  this,  the  universal  Christian 
church  under  the  Christian  dispensation  shall 
be  raised,  bidding  defiance  to  the  powers  and 
counsels  of  hell.  But  the  papists  gay,  '  No,  it 
is  Peter  upon  whom  the  church  is  built.'  "We 
demur,  and  they  burn  us  as  heretics.  The  re- 
stricted-communion baptists  say,  'It  is  water — 
water  makes  the  visible  church.'  "We  demur, 
and  they  excommunicate  us.  There  is  the  burn- 
ing of  palpable  fire,  and  the  burning  of  excis- 
ion—  the  one,  to  be  sure,  more  dreadful  upon 
the  body  than  the  other,  but  the  spirit  in  both 
alike  consuming. 

Church  applies  to  all  living  Christians  in  any 


THE   CHRISTIAN    CHURCH. 


167 


one  period  of  time — the  called,  and  separate, 
and  chosen,  who  are  living  to  God  and  to  Christ, 
evincing  that  they  are  not  of  the  world,  but  cho- 
sen out  of  the  world.  The  church  in  her  mili- 
tant aspect,  girded  with  the  armor  of  the  Lord, 
fighting  the  fight  of  faith,  walking  in  the  ordi- 
nances of  the  Lord  blameless :  to  such  we  have 
already  made  allusion  where  it  is  said,  "The 
Lord  added  to  the  church  daily  such  as  should 
be  saved"  (Acts  2 :  47).  Paul,  relating  his  per- 
secution against  the  church  in  his  unconverted 
state,  when  writing  to  the  Philippians,  says, 
.  .  .  "  concerning  zeal,  persecuting  the  church." 
And  to  the  Corinthians  he  writes,  "  I  am  not 
meet  to  be  called  an  apostle,  because  I  perse- 
cuted the  church  of  God."  These  statements 
applied  universally  to  the  Christian  church,  and 
are  thus  emphatically  expressed  in  giving  an  ac- 
count of  his  conversion,  in  Acts  22 :  4.  He  says 
of  his  conduct  on  to  the  time  Christ  arrested 
him  —  "I  persecuted  this  way  unto  the  death, 
binding  and  delivering  into  prisons  both  men 
and  women"  —  signifying  that  his  persecutions 
were  directed  against  all  indiscriminately  who 
called  upon  the  name  of  Jesus,  wherever  he 
found  them. 


168  ECCLESIASTICAL    OBSERVANCES. 

The  word  has  also  numerous  applications  to 
limited  congregations,  and  to  every  one  such 
meeting  in  any  given  place  ;  and  it  is  either  ex- 
pressed or  implied,  in  speaking  of  such  churches, 
that  they  are  distinguished  by  locality  or  name, 
so  as  to  be  known  as  one  assembly  convened  to 
worship  God.  A  few,  convened  in  a  house, 
were  as  much  a  church  in  that  house,  as  the 
large  assembly  in  a  commodious  place  were  a 
church,  or  as  that  the  universal  multitude  were 
the  church.  The  few  were,  if  we  may  so  speak, 
in  miniature  what  the  others  were  upon  the  more 
extended  scale.  When  speaking  of  a  district  or 
country  where  several  such  churches  were,  they 
were  referred  to  in  the  plural,  as  "  the  churches 
of  Asia."  Having  briefly  referred  to  the  uses 
which  the  Holy  Spirit  has  made  of  the  term 
church  in  the  sacred  Scriptures,  we  pass  to  an- 
other feature  of  the  subject. 

SECTION  V. THE  CHARACTER   OF   THE   ASSEMBLIES. 

It  is  of  the  first  importance  to  regard  the  char- 
acter of  the  assemblies  pointed  out  as  the  church 
or  churches  of  Christ  in  the  Scriptures  ;  so  that, 
in  forming  a  contrast  between  them  and  the  so- 


THE    CHRISTIAN    CHURCH.  169 

called  modern  churches,  some  idea  may  be  given 
of  the  unfounded  nature  of  the  systems,  which 
many  believe  to  be  the  exact  likeness  of  that 
which  existed  in  the  apostles'  days. 

Faith  in  Christ,  and  nothing  but  faith  in  Christ, 
constituted  those  who  believed  the  members  of 
the  universal  church,  according  to  the  sacred 
Scriptures.  The  term  church  was  used  to  de- 
note the  whole  body  of  Christians,  and  all  the 
disciples  of  Christ,  without  regard  to  questions 
about  the  instructions  of  Christ  and  his  apostles 
which  divided  the  opinions  of  Christians  even 
in  the  earliest  times. 

But  we  are  told  that  there  is  gospel  order,  by 
which  the  church  of  Christ  in  the  world  has  a 
visible  existence,  or  by  which  individuals  be- 
come connected  with  the  church,  whether  re- 
garded as  the  universal  or  a  smaller  assembly. 
It  is  at  this  point  that  men  diverge  from  the 
truth ;  and,  by  this  once  departing  from  the 
simple  and  plain  statement  of  a  church  given 
by  the  Holy  Ghost,  the  errors  that  are  now  so 
prevalent  have  arisen.  Mark  well,  then,  that 
the  church  is  neither  more  nor  less  than  the 
called  out :  they  believe  in  Christ,  they  hold  to 
the  head,  and  are  the  household  of  God.    They 


170  ECCLESIASTICAL   OBSERVANCES. 

are  the  true  church  whenever  they  are  assem- 
bled for  religious  purposes.  They  become  mem- 
bers of  the  church  as  soon  as  they  believe  in 
Jesus  Christ  with  the  heart ;  and  no  other  qual- 
ification do  the  Scriptures  require  for  a  visible 
member  of  the  church  ;  then  it  is  that  all  Chris- 
tian duties  are  laid  before  every  individual  mem- 
ber of  the  church,  symbolical  ordinances  and 
all  other  ordinances,  and  everything  which  the 
Lord  has  enjoined  upon  his  disciples,  but  not 
one  of  them  necessary  to  make  visible  member- 
ship of  the  church :  if  anything  else  be  regarded 
necessary,  the  term  church,  as  used  by  the  Holy 
Spirit,  is  destroyed. 

Nothing  can  be  more  simple  than  the  ideas 
of  the  church  of  Christ,  if  men  will  let  it  be 
what  God  the  Spirit  declares  it.  It  is  the  com- 
ing together  of  believers  in  one  place.  Methinks 
we  hear  some  say,  l  Baptized  believers?  We 
could  certainly  wish  all  believers  to  be  bap- 
tized, but  not  more  do  we  wish  them  to  observe 
that  rite  than  every  other  which  Christ  has  en- 
joined. But  it  may  be  said,  'This  is  the  first 
duty  the  Lord  has  enjoined  to  be  observed.' 
We  say  so  too,  and  desire  it  to  be  attended  to 
the  first.     But  again,  it  may  be  said,  'It  is  the 


THE   CHRISTIAN   CHURCH.  171 

way  into  the  church.'  Then,  if  so,  we  say,  with 
all  reverence  :  '  All  that  God  the  Spirit  has  said 
about  the  church  you  must  make  to  be  false ; 
for  he  has  said  the  church  is  an  assembly  of  the 
called  out :  Christ  is  the  door,  and  faith  in  him 
the  actual  entering  in.  Baptism  is  one  of  the 
ordinances  of  Christ  for  his  called  out.  As  a 
symbolical  ordinance,  it  is  in  one  particular  to 
set  forth  regeneration  by  the  Holy  Spirit,  where- 
by we  come  to  believe  savingly  in  Christ.' 

Men,  to  establish  their  own  dogmas,  often 
make  gross  mistakes.  It  is  not  because  in  sev- 
eral instances  converts,  almost  simultaneously 
with  conviction,  were  baptized,  and  described 
almost  in  one  breath  to  have  been  added  to  the 
disciples,  that  baptism  had  aught  to  do  with 
their  being  of  the  church.  This  notion  would 
not  have  been  entertained,  if  men,  to  support 
their  systems,  did  not  catch  at  bare  words,  like 
drowning  men  at  straws  ;  for,  had  they  followed 
up  the  reading,  they  would  have  soon  come  to 
a  statement  which  would  have  convinced  them 
that  baptism  had  nothing  to  do  with  their  being 
added  to  the  disciples;  for  it  is  written,  "The 
Lord  added  to  the  church  daily  such  as  should 
be  saved."     If  he  did  it  by  the  calling  them  out 


172  ECCLESIASTICAL   OBSERVANCES. 

from  the  world  by  liis  Spirit,  it  certainly  was 
not  done  by  baptism.  We  could  go  into  every 
particular,  and  prove  beyond  doubt  that  there 
is  not  an  inch  of  ground  which  these  reasoners 
against  revealed  truth  can  find  to  stand  on ; 
but  we  must  leave  the  remarks  made  to  find 
their  way  to  the  understanding  of  sober,  pious, 
reflecting  people,  and  they  will  read  for  them- 
selves, and  see  the  fallacy  of  human  systems, 
when  compared  with  the  word  of  God. 

Consider  the  churches  of  the  present  day,  in 
the  light  in  which  the  Holy  Spirit  presents  the 
Christian  church,  and  there  is  about  as  much 
likeness  between  the  one  and  the  other  as  there 
is  between  a  gracious  soul  and  a  worldly  man. 
As  soon  as  souls  were  converted  to  God,  they 
were  of  the  church,  and  went  to  their  own  com- 
pany ;  if  they  had  heretofore  been  desperate 
characters,  and  no  knowledge  had  come  to  the 
church  of  any  change,  then  they  of  the  church 
would  desire  to  be  satisfied  that  tin's  profession 
was  not  a  design  to  be  pla}red  off  for  wicked 
purposes :  but  as  soon  as  they  could  know  that 
the  work  was  of  God,  such  new  converts  were 
allowed  to  enter  in  as  of  the  church.  It  was  so 
in  the  case  of  Saul. 


THE   CHRISTIAN    CHURCH. 


173 


The  additions  to  the  church  were  made  by 
the  Lord's  separating  grace,  when  individuals 
went  voluntarily  and  gave  themselves  up  to  the 
worshipping  company.  But  in  the  now-denom- 
inated churches,  the  company  take  upon  them- 
selves to  say  who  among  those  that  believe  shall 
be  of  the  church.  They  admit  by  their  suffer- 
ance, or  reject  at  their  discretion ;  and  it  may 
be  the  most  godly  disciples  they  spurn  away, 
because  they  can  not  subscribe  to  some  of  their 
cherished  heretical  dogmas.  They  have  their 
rules  and  laws  of  uniformity.  The  one  question 
may  not  be  thought  of — 'Have  you  received 
Christ  into  your  heart  by  faith  V — but,  '  Do  you 
believe  this,  that, and  the  other?'  —  anon-essen- 
tial, perhaps,  a  lie  against  God's  truth  it  may 
be,  or  a  matter  of  doubtful  disputation.  Then, 
4  Do  you  subscribe  to  our  rules,  and  will  you 
adopt  our  church  covenant,  and  abide  by  it?' 
After  all  this  cross-examination,  if  they  like  you, 
they  take  you  in  among  their  number  by  their 
sufferance  ;  and  if  not,  they  reject  you — no  mat- 
ter to  them  what  the  Lord  has  done  for  you,  by 
calling  you  out  and  giving  you  a  name  among 
his  children. 

The  true  church  of  Christ  gives  the  most  per- 


174  ECCLESIASTICAL   OBSERVANCES. 

feet  liberty  for  tlie  full  and  entire  exercise  of 
private  judgment  in  every  matter.  The  doc- 
trine of  Christ  must  be  believed,  to  make  it 
manifest  that  God  has  called  out :  further  than 
this  perhaps  no  two  individuals  may  see  eye  to 
eye  in  all  things.  We  are  not  to  be  gagged,  or 
padlocked,  or  disciplined  for  the  exercise  of 
private  judgment,  nor  for  speaking  our  own 
thoughts  in  love  one  to  another,  as  the  restrict- 
ed baptists  would  discipline ;  for  it  is  mainly 
by  the  free  interchange  of  thoughts,  views,  and 
feelings,  under  the  blessing  of  God,  that  we 
grow  up  into  Christ  in  all  things.  Why  do  we 
see  the  church  withered  and  blasted,  as  it  is  in 
the  present  day,  its  numerical  force  maintained 
by  artificial  means,  and  for  the  most  part  with 
dead  professors  ? .  The  answer  is, '  Men's  systems 
have  overspread  the  church,  and  these  societies 
have  despised  the  operations  of  the  Spirit,  and 
trodden  down  the  heritage  of  the  Lord.' 

SECTION    VI. THE     HISTORICAL    FEATURES    OF    THE 

INNOVATION    UPON   CHURCH    GOVERNMENT. 

It  is  full  of  instruction  and  warning  to  mark 
in  the  historical  features  the  gradual  manner  in 


THE   CHRISTIAN   CHURCH.  175 


which  the  church  has  become  so  changed  from 
the  simple  and  glorious  appearance  in  which 
she  is  presented  by  the  Holy  Spirit  in  the  New 
Testament. 

It  was  soon  regarded  as.  essential  to  the  idea 
of  a  church,  that  believers  should  be  bound  to- 
gether by  a  sort  of  mutual  pledge,  and  form  a 
compact  and  united  body.  How  true  it  is  that 
the  wisdom  of  man  is  foolishness  with  God !  If 
the  love  of  Christ  were  not  the  bond  to  unite 
the  body  in  close  compact,  how  could  it  be  ex- 
pected that  any  human  pledge  should  ?  Certain 
outward  forms  of  profession  came  to  be  regard- 
ed as  requisite  for  every  member — such  as  bap- 
tism and  the  partaking  of  the  Lord's  Supper,  as 
introductory  to  the  church  (observe,  baptism 
was  not  the  only  ordinance  to  be  observed  as  a 
prerequisite  to  the  church,  but  the  Lord's  Sup- 
per also,  when  men  began  to  make  terms  of 
church-fellowship) ;  then  certain  officers,  as  bish- 
ops, pastors,  and  deacons,  were  regarded  as  es- 
sential, instead  of  appendages ;  also  certain  uni- 
form services,  and  the  acknowledgment  of  cer- 
tain propositions  as  containing  a  just  exposition 
and  summary  of  the  doctrine  of  Christ  and  tho 
apostles. 


176  ECCLESIASTICAL   OBSERVANCES. 

Efforts  were  thus  made  from  a  very  early  pe- 
riod in  the  history  of  Christianity,  and  continued 
to  bring  the  body  of  professing  Christians  into 
this  state  of  consistency  and  uniformity.  It  pro- 
gressed in  this  direction,  and  ultimately  the 
bishop  of  Rome,  who  was  represented  as  the 
direct  successor  of  Peter  (the  rock,  as  they  say, 
on  whom  the  church  was  to  be  built),  received 
by  almost  universal  consent  a  kind  of  headship 
or  supremacy.  About  him  was  gathered  a  coun- 
cil, consisting  of  other  bishops,  pastors,  deacons, 
&c,  forming  a  supreme  authority  in  this  com- 
pact community,  and  a  court  of  ultimate  appeal. 
These  things  grew  darker  and  darker  for  the 
church  until  the  period  of  the  Reformation. 

At  the  Reformation,  certain  states  of  Europe 
separated  themselves  from  the  papal  usurpation. 
The  separation  was  made  on  various  grounds, 
which  the  history  of  the  Reformation  fully  ex- 
plains. The  movement  was  not  made,  at  the 
first,  with  the  idea  of  separation,  but  for  cor- 
rection of  abuses.  But  the  resistance  which 
was  made  to  the  efforts  of  the  reformers,  com- 
bined with  other  things,  rendered  this  imprac- 
ticable ;  and  nothing  remained  for  the  states  in 
which  the  call  for  reformation  was  the  loudest, 


THE    CHRISTIAN    CHURCH.  177 

but  to  break  off  from  the  great  confederacy,  and 
to  renounce  entirely  all  connection  with  popery 
and  the  so-called  papal  church.  Then  arose  oth- 
er ecclesiastical  bodies,  assuming  the  name  of 
church,  as  the  church  of  Geneva,  the  church  of 
Scotland^  the  church  of  England,  &c,  meaning 
the  Christian  members  of  those  political  confed- 
eracies, or  belonging  to  those  nations,  when  re- 
garded under  the  aspect  of  being  professed  be- 
lievers in  Christ. 

The  protestant  churches  (for  so  they  have 
been  denominated,  of  whatever  country  or  order 
differing  from  the  papal  church),  as  national 
churches,  when  the  bodies  of  such  nations  broke 
off  their  allegiance  to  the  pope,  became  a  sort 
of  national  independency.  Each  protestant  na- 
tion had  its  own  church,  and  regulated  its  own 
affairs  according  to  the  principles  upon  which 
it  was  established,  without  communication  with 
other  protestant  people. 

These,  as  national  establishments,  were  not 
universally  approved.  Many  of  the  people  of 
each  nation  dissented  from  the  principle  of  such 
national  establishments,  and  accordingly  adopt- 
ed such  regulations  as  they  regarded  scriptural. 
They  formed  themselves  into  little  bands  o£ 

8* 


178  ECCLESIASTICAL   OBSERVANCES. 

Christians,  though  in  some  countries  they  met 
with  much  opposition  and  persecution  by  their 
declaration  of  nonconformity  to  national  insti- 
tutions. These  little  groups,  holding  to  the 
head,  even  Christ,  by  faith,  as  they  assembled 
in  rooms  or  whatever  places  they  could  for  Di- 
vine worship,  without  organization  by  man  or 
human  laws,  were  more  in  conformity  to  the 
primitive  model  of  the  New-Testament  churches 
than  any  that  had  been  known  in  the  world 
since  the  early  departure  from  the  simplicity 
of  Christ's  churches  by  the  adoption  of  outward 
forms  of  profession,  and  uniformity  of  practice 
and  faith  as  declared  by  man. 

But  it  was  not  long  that  these  little,  oppressed 
companies  of  Christians  were  contented  to  be 
such  imitators  of  the  glorious  and  simple  models 
of  the  churches  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  in  the  New 
Testament.  They  began  to  organize  under  their 
several  banners  and  denominational  characters ; 
and  in  proportion  as  toleration  was  exercised, 
and  it  was  regarded  as  common  right  for  men 
to  worship  God  according  to  the  dictates  of 
their  own  consciences,  so  in  proportion  the  ori- 
ginal simplicity  of  these  nonconformist  bodies 
passed  away,  and  every  one  more  or  less  has 


THE   CHRISTIAN   CHURCH.  179 

fallen  into  the  error  which  they  so  deprecated. 
They  have  certain  creeds  and  rules  of  govern- 
ment, to  which  every  one  of  the  body  must  sub- 
scribe, thus  going  into  the  same  path  of  error 
which  led  to  that  dreadful  state  of  things  when 
popery  was  rampant,  with  all  its  evil  conse- 
quences ;  and  uniformity  by  submission  to  all 
that  was  required  was  finally  demanded  at  the 
peril  of  persecution  unto  death,  wherever  Con- 
science lifted  her  voice  to  protest  against  any 
unscriptural  heresy  or  oppressive  enactment. 

In  countries  such  as  the  United  States,  where 
there  is  no  national  religious  establishment,  no 
state  church  supported  and  defended  by  legal 
enactments  —  all  religious  denominations  being 
alike  countenanced  and  protected  by  law — we 
see  the  various  denominations  struggling  to- 
gether as  rivals.  The  interests  of  this  denomina- 
tion and  that  denomination  are  common  house- 
hold terms  in  matters  pertaining  to  ecclesiasti- 
cal bodies ;  and  what  is  this  but  a  dreadful  fea- 
ture of  antichrist  ?  Is  Christ  divided?  Can  the 
interests  of  one  denomination  be  spoken  of  in 
opposition  to  another,  without  in  spirit  being 
schismatics,  dividing  the  church,  which  is  but 
one,  every  member  being  equally  precious  to 


180  ECCLESIASTICAL   OBSERVANCES. 

Jesus,  ransomed  by  his  blood,  and  called  out  by 
his  Spirit,  and  as  essential  to  the  unity  of  the 
body  of  Christ  as  an  arm  or  a  finger  to  the  per- 
fection of  the  human  frame  I 


SECT.    VII. DENOMINATIONAL    EQUALITY    NO    SAFE- 
GUARD  AGAINST   CORRUPTION   AND    OPPRESSION. 

The  equal  footing  upon  which  all  denomina- 
tions of  Christian  bodies  are  placed  in  the  Uni- 
ted States-is  in  itself  a  glorious  feature  of  liber- 
ty ;  but  with  regard  to  the  denominations,  at 
least  to  one  of  them  we  may  speak,  this  liberty 
is  wofully  abused.  There  are  stringent  enact- 
ments in  the  ecclesiastical  polity  of  the  restrict- 
ed-baptist denomination,  which  destroy  the  right 
of  private  judgment  which  God  gives  to  every 
man  to  enjoy,  and  is  both  cruel  and  persecuting 
to  a  large  portion  of  its  members. 

Christianity  has  lost  her  simple  and  beautiful 
dress,  to  be  decorated  with  the  uncomely  orna- 
ments of  man's  making.  Religious  societies, 
established  upon  a  compact  system  of  subscri- 
bing and  submitting  to  certain  rules  and  dog- 
mas of  man's  compiling,  and  making  such  the 
terms  of  membership,  are    called   "  Christian 


THE   CHRISTIAN   CHURCH.  181 

churches"  —  when  in  these,  in  many  instances, 
godly  as  the  life  and  character  may  be,  the  right 
of  private  judgment  in  civil  relations,  and  reli- 
gious rites  and  observances,  is  denied  if  it  differ 
from  the  measures  of  conformity  laid,  down ;  and 
if  determined  to  exercise  it  unceremoniously, 
the  character  is  cried  down  at  large,  the  indi- 
vidual must  be  shunned  as  a  pestilence,  and  ex- 
communicated, to  drift  in  a  dismembered  con- 
dition upon  the  wide  world. 

If  the  people  were  only  to  awake  up  to  this 
ecclesiastical  oppression,  so  as  to  be  fully  alive 
to  this  assumed  authority  over  their  consciences 
and  their  rights  of  private  judgment,  they  would 
possess  the  true  moral  courage  of  Christ's  free- 
men, of  which  now  so  many  seem  comparatively 
destitute  ;  they  would  laugh  such  discipline  and 
disciplinarians  to  scorn,  and  would  soon  recover 
something  of  the  primitive  simplicity  and  free- 
dom of  Christian  churches ;  while  their  oppres- 
sors would,  from  shame,  seek  the  dark  corners 
of  the  earth  in  which  to  hide  themselves. 

In  this  outline  review  of  what  now  exists  in 
relation  to  the  Christian  church,  it  is  manifest 
that  there  is  something  radically  wrong  in  the 
nature  and  constitution  of  Christian  societies, 


182  ECCLESIASTICAL  OBSERVANCES. 

called  churches.  We  here  quote  from  Tassey's 
work  upon  "The  Supreme  and  Exclusive  Au- 
thority of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  in  Religious 
Matters."  Referring  to  the  misapplication  of 
the  term  church,  and  its  abuse  by  religious  so- 
cieties, at  page  89  he  says :  "  Nothing  can  be 
clearer  than  this,  that  the  system,  whatever  it 
may  be,  that  obliges  its  adherents  to  use  either 
the  language  or  phraseology  of  scripture  in  a 
sense  in  which  neither  was  ever  used  by  the 
Holy  Spirit ;  or  to  apply  an  appropriated  appel- 
lation to  something  that  is  essentially  different 
from  that  to  which  it  is  applied  by  the  Oracles 
of  Truth,  betrays  a  bad  cause,  and  shows  that 
it  rests  upon  a  sandy  foundation.  On  the  other 
hand,  that  plan  which  obliges  its  defenders  to 
use  the  words  and  phrases  of  scripture  in  exact 
correspondence  with  the  import  of  them,  as  ap- 
plied by  the  Holy  Spirit,  will  be  found,  upon 
close  investigation,  to  come  nearest  to  the  pat- 
tern which  God  has  exhibited  for  our  imitation." 
To  the  above  quotation  we  would  add  anoth- 
er from  the  same  work  (page  87),  bearing  upon 
the  simplicity  and  sufficiency  of  the  Scriptures 
pertaining  to  the  things  concerning  the  church  : 
"  Let  it  not  be  supposed  that  his  [the  Saviour's] 


THE   CHRISTIAN   CHURCH.  183 

instructions  are  dark  and  mysterious,  and  be- 
yond the  reach  of  vulgar  minds :  if  so,  the  gos- 
pel was  never  intended  for  the  poor,  and  ceases 
to  be  glad  tidings  to  the  needy  and  destitute. 
Nor  let  it  be  imagined  that  regarding  both  the 
individual  and  social  conduct  of  his  children, 
that  ample  directions  are  not  furnished  them. 
If  this  were  true,  then  the  Scriptures  are  an  in- 
different rule,  and  Christ  is  not  an  all-wise  law- 
giver. Then  his  wisdom,  his  foresight,  and  his 
prudence,  which  ought  to  have  embraced  every 
case  and  provided  against  every  exigency,  all, 
all  tumble  to  the  ground  ;  and  instead  of  having 
infallible  principles  to  guide  the  conscience,  we 
must  become  the  dupes  of  every  designing  lord- 
ling,  the  obedient  and  willing  slaves  of  fallible 
and  erring  mortals.  Nay,  more,  we  must  re- 
sign our  liberties  into  the  safe-keeping  of  a  cer- 
tain privileged  order  of  men,  and  no  longer  dare 
to  assert  the  rights  of  conscience,  or  refuse  obe- 
dience to  the  sweeping  mandates  of-  self-consti- 
tuted authorities.  But  enough  of  this.  The 
human  mind  is  free,  naturally  free  from  every 
ecclesiastical  yoke.  It  is  only  for  it  to  assert 
and  maintain  its  rights,  and  not  resign  its  liber- 
ties  into  the  hands  of  others.     The  Christian  is 


184  ECCLESIASTICAL   OBSERVANCES. 

the  Lord's  freeman.  '  To  stand  fast  in  the  lib- 
erty wherewith  Christ  has  made  his  people  free,' 
lie  feels  to  be  his  duty  and  privilege.  '  He  is 
to  call  no  man  master  upon  earth,  for  one  is  his 
master,  even  Christ.' "  Then  a  paragraph  from 
Miller's  "  Letters"  (vol.  2,  pages  72,  73)  follows : 
"'His  word  is  the  sole  standard  by  which,  as 
Christians,  or  as  churches,  we  must  stand  or  fall. 
Happy  will  it  be  for  us  if  we  can  appeal  to  the 
great  Searcher  of  hearts,  that  we  have  not  fol- 
lowed the  traditions  and  inventions  of  men,  but 
the  sure  word  of  prophecy,  which  is  given  to  us 
to  be  a  light  to  our  feet  and  a  lamp  to  our  path, 
to  guide  us  into  the  way  of  peace.' " 

SECTION    VIII. THE    VISIBILITY    OF   CHURCHES    AND 

MEMBERS. 

We  must  not  pass  over  here  the  visibility  of 
the  church  and  the  visibility  of  individual  mem- 
bership. Ghurch  is  not  a  term  for  an  idea,  or 
sensibility,  or  even  a  spirit,  but  for  a  material 
substance  —  an  assembly  of  rational,  active  be- 
ings, demonstrated  to  be  such  by  seeing,  hear- 
ing, feeling,  judging,  &c.  The  grand  question 
is, '  What  constitutes  the  visibility  of  the  church 


THE   CHRISTIAN    CHURCH.  185 

as  it  exists  in  this  world  V  The  question  is  grave, 
but  nothing  is  more  simple  than  the  answer  it 
demands. 

An  assembly  of  believers  in  Christ  constitutes 
the  visibility  of  the  church.  Their  acts  of  reli- 
gious worship  may  more  fully  demonstrate  the 
fact  to  the  unacquainted  spectator  of  the  assem- 
bly, but  the  assembly  itself  constitutes  its  visi- 
bility. We  have  heard  much  talk  about  the 
visible  character  which  the  church  must  assume, 
and  the  requisitions  to  constitute  the  church  vis- 
ible.    All  this  is  mere  verbal  nonsense. 

"When  the  Israelites  were  brought  from  the 
house  of  bondage  into  the  wilderness,  did  it 
want  anything  more  to  demonstrate  their  exist- 
ence than  that  they  were  a  congregation  of  peo- 
ple there  ?  and  did  it  want  anything  more  to 
prove  that,  for  forty  years,  they  were  there  as 
the  Lord's  church  in  the  wilderness,  than  that 
as  a  religious  assembly  they  were  wandering 
about  for  that  space  of  time  ?  The  term  church, 
or  ekklesia,  signifies  as  much  a  called-out  assem- 
bly, as  the  word  baptize  or  baptizo  does  "  put- 
ting under  water."  The  baptists  never  ask, 
4  What  is  the  visibility  of  the  ordinance  of  bap- 
tism?'— there  would  be  no  sense  in  doing  so; 


186  ECCLESIASTICAL   OBSERVANCES. 

neither  is  there  in  asking  for  the  visibility  of 
the  church. 

But  it  may  be  that  the  inquiry  is  more  in  re- 
lation to  the  character  of  the  assembly  than  to 
the  assembly  itself.  '  How  is  it  visibly  distin- 
guished as  a  Christian  church  from  a  worldly 
congregation,  or  a  congregation  of  Jewish  wor- 
shippers?' By  the  profession  of  faith  in  Christ 
Jesus  as  their  Saviour — by  the  ready  answer 
they  would  give  to  every  interrogater  who  would 
say,  'What  assembly  is  this?'  —  'An  assembly 
of  Christians ;"  for  doubtless  they  should  "  be 
ready  always  to  give  a  reason  of  the  hope  that 
is  in  them  with  meekness  and  fear." 

If  you  go  into  an  assembly  convened  for  po- 
litical purposes,  though  you  may  have  been  be- 
fore a  stranger  to  the  object  of  the  assembly, 
yet  you  will  not  have  listened  long  to  the  speak- 
ers before  you  will  rightly  decide  that  it  is  a 
political  meeting,  and  to  which  side  of  political 
wranglers  they  belong.  So,  if  you  go  into  a 
congregation  convened  as  a  temperance  society, 
you  can  in  the  same  way  soon  decide  the  nature 
of  the  meeting  from  the  addresses  of  those  who 
hold  forth.  In  either  of  these  examples,  the 
object  of  .the  assembly,  and  the  views  they  ad- 


THE   CHRISTIAN   CHURCH.  187 

vocate,  are  known  without  reference  to  rules 
and  laws  of  combination.  These  assemblies 
need  no  such  compact,  nor  have  they  subscribed 
to  uniformity  of  sentiment.  They  regard  one 
object  j  this  brought  them  together,  this  gave 
the  distinctive  features  to  the  assembly,  and 
made  it  a  visible  political  meeting,  or  a  visible 
temperance-meeting.  Such,  too,  is  the  very  con- 
stitution of  a  New-Testament  church.  It  is  not 
visible  by  human  laws,  or  covenant  agreement, 
or  by  endorsing  articles  of  faith,  but  by  union 
to  Christ,  as  is  the  temperance-congregation  by 
union  to  temperance,  and  the  political  assembly 
by  union  to  a  certain  political  head.  But  alas ! 
multitudes  want  something  more  to  make  a 
Christian  church  than  that  which  the  Holy  Ghost 
lias  declared  to  be  a  Christian  church. 

'But  what  constitutes  a  visible  Christian?'  it 
may  be  asked  —  'seeing  that  of  such  individuals 
brought  together  there  is  the  visible  body  or 
church?'  The  answer  is  here  also  simple — 
nothing  more  so :  'It  is  a  profession  of  faith  in 
the  doctrine  of  Christ,  and  obedience  to  the  pre- 
cepts of  the  gospel,  and  that  not  so  much  the 
ceremonial  as  the  moral ;  these  are  the  outward 
things,  and  by  these  only  the  world  can  judge.' 


188  ECCLESIASTICAL    OBSERVANCES. 

But  the  true  Christian  seeks  to  press  farther — 
wishing  to  discover,  in  every  visible  member  of 
the  church,  the  heart-experience  of  the  truth, 
the  teaching  and  comforting  of  the  Holy  Spirit ; 
to  discern,  by  the  relation  of  what  the  Lord  has 
done  for  the  soul,  that  there  has  been  the  con- 
viction of  sin  by  the  Spirit ;  a  godly  sorrow  felt, 
and  faith  in  the  blood  of  Christ  as  an  atonement 
for  sin  experienced,  with  other  evidences  of  a 
gracious  state,  soon  discoverable  where  the  Lord 
has  regenerated  the  soul  by  his  Spirit.  But  the 
experience,  as  satisfactory  evidence  to  other  real 
Christians,  is  one  thing ;  the  visibility  of  Chris- 
tian discipleship  is  another. 

It  may  be  asked,  '  Is  this  profession  of  faith 
in  Christ  enough  to  make  a  visible  member  of 
the  visible  church  V  It  is  all  that  Christ  has 
enjoined,  all  that  the  Holy  Spirit  asks,  and  all 
that  the  apostles  demanded.  Men,  who  have 
formed  ecclesiastical  societies,  have  demanded 
confessions,  subscriptions,  and  promises,  to  all 
that  they  in  their  severally-confederated  clubs, 
societies,  or  churches,  as  they  are  by  common 
consent  called,  have  seen  fit  to  enjoin  ;  but  there 
is  a  satisfaction  in  knowing  that  no  unwilling- 
ness to  bow  to  their  dogmas,  no  desire  on  their 


THE   CHRISTIAN  CHURCH.  189 

part  to  keep  from  their  societies  or  excommuni- 
cate, can  thereby  ever  hinder  any  from  being 
of  the  visible  church.  They  may  persecute,  and 
bring  their  regulations  to  bear  in  severing  from 
their  societies,  but  no  such  act  truly  affects  the 
Christian  in  the  sight  of  the  Lord :  human  laws 
can  never  have  influence  over  his  church.  Their 
excommunications  as  such  societies,  and  on  such 
grounds  as  alleged,  are  mere  farcical  acts,  which 
may  serve  to  terrify  children,  but  which  men 
may  laugh  at.  Such  excommunications  are 
nothing  more  than  an  assumed  serious  threat  to 
sever  the  head  from  the  body  :  the  effigy  is  pro- 
duced, then  the  executioner  and  the  block,  and 
off  comes  the  head  of  the  e^-gj  in  the  place  of 
the  head  which  was  threatened  to  be  taken  away ! 
It  is  a  religious  and  sacred  mockery,  the  prac- 
tice of  foolish,  erring  men ;  but,  alas !  it  is  tri- 
fling with  sacred  things. 

But,  returning  to  the  question — it  may  be 
asked,  '  Is  not  baptism  such  a  profession  as  the 
apostles  demanded  to  constitute  visible  disciple- 
ship  V  Designing  men,  filled  more  with  party 
names  and  party  dogmas,  have  told  you  so,  and 
multitudes  unsuspectingly  have  reposed  confi- 
dence in  the  truthfulness  of  the  answer.     But 


190  ECCLESIASTICAL   OBSERVANCES. 

exercise  your  own  judgments;  ask  yourselves 
what  are  the  evidences  these  partisans  have 
given  you :  what  further  can  they  say  than  that 
the  apostles  did  baptize  believers,  according  to 
the  commission  Jesus  gave  them  ?  You  will 
then  see  that  this  has  nothing  to  do  with  the 
question,  and  will  at  once  say  that  they  bap- 
tized because  Christ  commanded  It ;  but  if  they 
did  not  say  it  was  to  make  visible  disciples,  what 
right  lias  any  one  to  say  so,  any  more  than  the 
papist  has  to  say  that  it  makes  them  children 
of  God,  regenerates  them,  and  so  on  ?  Here  you 
will  come  to  the  honest  conclusion  that,  if  no 
better  evidence  can  be  found,  it  is  no  evidence 
at  all,  and  you  will  consequently  reject  it  from 
your  creed  for  ever. 

The  apostles  did  not  require  baptism  to  con- 
stitute visible  disciples  of  Christ,  for  many  rea- 
sons :  two  may  here  be  given.  The  first  is,  it 
would  have  been  assuming  what  Christ  never 
authorized  them  to  assume ;  he  "  added  to  the 
church,"  and  not  they  by  any  ordinance  which 
they  were  to  administer;  faith  and  not  wTater 
constituted  discipleship,  therefore  the  apostles 
did  not  require  it,  for  Christ  himself  did  not; 
and  if  on  no  other  ground  than  that  he  did  not 


THE   CHRISTIAN    CHURCH.  191 

require  it  of  them,  it  were  enough  to  evidence 
that  they  had  no  authority  in  requiring  it  of 
others  for  that  purpose.  The  second  reason  is, 
it  would  fail  of  the  design.  They  could  have 
been  baptized  in  a  minute,  and  no  one  have 
been  present  to  have  witnessed  the  ceremony, 
as  in  the  case  of  the  eunuch.  What  visibility 
did  it  give  to  his  Christianity  ?  The  baptism  of 
yesterday,  in  the  presence  of  multitudes,  does 
not  make  a  visible  member  of  the  body  of  Christ 
to-day.  Could  it  have  been  possible  that,  in 
stretching  beyond  the  requirement  of  Christ, 
the  apostles  had  even  demanded  baptism  to  de- 
monstrate the  visibility  of  the  church  or  of  in- 
dividual membership,  they  would  have  soon 
dropped  it  upon  discovering  that  it  did  not  an- 
swer the  end  sought. 

This  part  of  the  inquiry  relating  to  a  Chris- 
tian church  has  been  reasoned  in  the  above  cat- 
echetical way,  that  the  simplicity  of  it  may  in- 
duce many  in  their  own  minds  to  add  to  these 
questions,  upon  subjects  relating  to  ecclesiasti- 
cal matters,  and  detect  more  of  the  unscriptural 
demands  of  unreasonable  men,  who  lord  it  over 
God's  heritage :  but  here  is  enough  to  prove 
that  faith,  and  not  baptism  in  any  sense,  is  the 


192  ECCLESIASTICAL   OBSERVANCES. 

way  of  entering,  by  Christ,  the  door  into  the 
church.  We  follow  on  to  the  concluding  re- 
marks upon  this  review  of  the  church. 


» 


SECT.   IX. THE   ENDS   ANSWERED   BY   A   CHRISTIAN 

CHURCH   IN   THE   WORLD. 

It  is  of  vast  importance  to  consider  what  pur- 
poses are  designed  by  the  Lord  in  maintaining 
the  visible  church  in  this  world.  There  is  noth- 
ing that  the  Lord  has  designed  or  ordained,  with- 
out a  special  end  in  view ;  and  it  is  certain  that 
a  church  called  out  from  the  common  mass  of 
human,  sinful  beings,  must  have  high  and  ex- 
alted designs  to  answer.  Let  us  contemplate 
two  or  three,  at  least. 

It  is  a  witness  for  God  and  truth.  The  church 
is  the  ground  and  pillar  of  truth.  It  is  a  living, 
standing  miracle  among  men  —  a  supernatural 
phenomenon  in  the  world,  above  the  compre- 
hension of  natural  men.  John  says,  "  Beloved, 
the  world  knoweth  us  not,  for  it  knew  Him  not." 
As  it  was  with  Abraham,  who  was  called  out 
from  the  idolatrous  of  mankind,  that  he  and  his 
descendants  should  be  a  distinguished  and  pe- 
culiar people  in  the  earth,  living  witnesses,  serv- 


THE   CHRISTIAN    CHURCH.  193 

ing  and  worshipping  the  only  true  God,  so  the 
church  lias  ever  answered  this  end,  whether  re- 
garded in  the  patriarchal,  Levitical,  or  Christian 
dispensation.  She  is  a  standing  miracle  of  Di- 
vine grace,  witnessing  in  a  sinful  world  the 
faithfulness  of  God  —  the  covenant  God  of  truth. 
How  essentially  important  it  is,  then,  that  this 
church  should  always  be  a  spiritual  assembly, 
living  above  the  character  of  a  common  society 
■ — a  worldly  combination  of  men  ! 

The  church  is  a  light  in  a  dark  place.  "  Dark- 
ness hath  covered  the  earth,  and  gross  darkness 
the  people ;"  but  the  church  is  a  light,  and  is 
therefore  to  "  arise  and  shine."  To  this  end 
was  the  exhortation  of  Jesus  to  his  disciples : 
"No  man,  when  he  hath  lighted  a  candle,  set- 
teth  it  under  a  bushel,  but  on  a  candlestick,  that 
it  might  give  light  to  all  that  are  in  the  house." 
And  again  :  "  So  let  your  light  shine  before  men, 
that  they,  seeing  your  good  works,  may  glorify 
your  Father  which  is  in  heaven."  If  religion 
does  not  make  the  character  purer — that  the 
church,  or  the  called-out  of  God,  may  reflect 
his  mighty  goodness  and  perfection — what  is 
the  use  of  the  church  in  the  world?  Are  we 
not  called  u  out  of  darkness  into  his  marvellous 

9 


194  ECCLESIASTICAL   OBSERVANCES. 


light,  to  show  forth  his  praises"  who  hath  called 
us  ?  Can  this  be  done  by  biting  and  devouring 
each  other;  by  division  and  worldly  clubs,  cal- 
ling themselves  churches;  by  seeking  to  be  ri- 
vals— by  one  sect  saying  to  another  sect, "  Stand 
by,  I  am  holier  than  thou  ;"  by  making  the  Lord's 
table  a  partisan,  a  denominational  table ;  by  di- 
vision, strife,  and  envy  ?  JWo,  says  the  Saviour : 
"  by  this  shall  all  men  know  that  ye  are  my 
disciples,  when  ye  have  love  one  to  another." 
Worldly  societies  set  themselves  up  one  against 
the  other  for  worldly,  party  interests;  but  it 
must  not  be  so  with  Christians.  Ye  are  one,  ye 
are  brethren,  and  therefore  by  union  and  love 
should  seek  to  glorify  God.  If  we  let  the  love 
of  Christ  rule  in  our  hearts,  we  shall  have  love 
to  all  the  brethren ;  and  the  party-spirit  of  shut- 
ting up  the  table  of  the  Lord  from  all  that  do 
not  see  eye  to  eye  with  us,  will  perish  from  our 
thoughts,  with  all"  other  such  antichristian  no- 
tions. In  this  way  the  universal  church  will  be- 
come like  a  light  in  the  world,  answering  the 
grand  end  to  which  she  is  here  called  of  God. 

The  church  is  a  blessing  in  the  world ;  she  is 
said  to  be  the  salt  of  the  earth.  By  the  gracious 
Spirit  she  savors  of  holiness  and  God ;  therefore 


THE    CHRISTIAN    CHURCH.  195 

the  world  is  preserved  from  the  destruction 
which  would  otherwise  arise  from  the  leprosy 
of  sin  and  the  putrefaction  attendant  upon  uni- 
versal wickedness.  But  the  church  only  savors 
of  Divine  grace,  as  she  lives  a  spiritual  life  to 
God.  She  must  be  seasoned  with  grace  herself; 
but  how  can  she  be  while  she  seeks  conformity 
to  the  world,  preferring  human  governments  to 
the  government  of  the  Holy  Spirit?  how  can 
she  be,  as  factious  and  divided  into  piecemeal, 
contending  for  human  distinctions  when  she 
should  be  a  compact  body,  holding  to  Christ 
the  head,  and  as  Paul  says  —  "speaking  the 
truth  in  love,  may  grow  up  into  him  in  all 
things,  which  is  the  head,  even  Christ :  from 
whom  the  whole  body  fitly  joined  together  and 
compacted  by  that  which  every  joint  supplieth, 
according  to  the  effectual  working  in  the  meas- 
ure of  every  part,  maketh  increase  of  the  body 
unto  the  edifying  of  itself  in  love"  (Ephesians  4 : 
15;  16). 

We  must  cast  away  worldly  legislation  in 
the  church;  —  and,  though  not  seeing  eye  to 
eye,  and  having  our  different  denominational 
names  among  men,  we  must  see  and  feel  that 
we  are  one  church,  and  love  as  brethren  :  with- 


196  ECCLESIASTICAL   OBSERVANCES. 

out  this  there  will  be  no  gracious  influence,  and 
where  is  our  saltness  without  it?  Jesus  said, 
"  Have  salt  in  yourselves,"  when  explaining  its 
importance  thus :  "  If  the  salt  hath  lost  its  savor, 
wherewith  shall  it  be  salted  %  it  is  thenceforth 
good  for  nothing  but  to  be  cast  out  and  trodden 
under  foot  of  men."  O  that  we  may  be  more 
than  ever  concerned  for  this  grace  and  love ! 

So  far  as  we* have  adhered  to  the  word  of  God, 
and  the  testimony  of  the  Holy  Spirit  in  the  New 
Testament,  so  far  we  have  dealt  out  a  death-blow 
to  the  idea  of  organized  societies  being  Christian 
churches.  The  wound  may  be  covered  up,  and 
many  may  drink  of  the  cup  of  error,  with  which 
they  have  long  made  free ;  they  may  attempt 
to  "  heal  the  hurt  of  the  daughter  of  my  people 
slightly,  saying,  '  Peace,  peace,'  when  there  is 
no  peace ;"  they  may  linger  on  through  the  re- 
maining dark  days  of  the  Gentile  times;  but 
the  period  is  not  far  distant  when  judgment  will 
begin  at  the  house  of  God,  and  then  these  world- 
ly systems  must  go  —  and,  in  the  millennial  dis- 
pensation, the  truth  of  what  has  been  here  so 
feebly  set  forth  shall  shine  as  the  sun  in  his 
strength. 


PART   V. 


ORGANIZED   BODIES, 


SECTION   I. SCRIPTURALLY-ORGANIZED   CHURCHES. 

We  have  seen  in  the  foregoing  part,  upon  the 
church,  that  the  way  in  which  "  church"  is  used 
by  modern  Christian  societies  is  a  perversion  of 
the  term ;  and  that  such  institutions,  governed 
by  their  own  laws,  as  compact  bodies,  without 
any  intention  to  adopt  regulations  for  their  ob- 
servance that  might  oppose  the  letter  and  spirit 
of  the  Scriptures,  are  not  in  that  compact  rela- 
tion churches.  They  may  be  good  and  useful 
societies,  and  appendages  to  the  church  or 
churches  of  Christ  in  the  world,  but  are  not 
churches.  Therefore,  though  in  themselves  in- 
nocent things,  yet,  by  assuming  the  title  of 
church,  in  the  exercise  of  authority  over  the 


198  ECCLESIASTICAL   OBSERVANCES. 

consciences  of  the  true  members  of  the  body  of 
Christ,  and  by  asserting  such  right  as  the  legit- 
imate church,  they  become  fearful  indeed. 

There  is  a  sense  in  which  the  true  church  is 
an  organized  body,  but  not  by  human  construc- 
tion. It  is  vastly  different  to  the  societies  ob- 
serving human  laws.  The  called-out  by  God 
in  the  character  of  a  congregation  or  assembly 
of  spiritual  worshippers  is  a  compact  and  uni- 
ted assembly,  the  resemblance  of  which  can  not 
be  found  among  the  most-approved  and  well- 
governed  societies  in  the  universe.  The  Holy 
Spirit  is  present  with  the  church.  The  several 
members,  inspired  with  grace  in  their  hearts, 
move  to  the  one  company  as  bone  moved  to 
bone  in  Ezekiel's  vision  of  the  valley  of  dry 
bones.  God  said  it,  and  it  was  done  :  "  Behold, 
I  will  cause  breath  to  come  into  you,  and  ye 
shall  live :  and  I  will  lay  sinews  upon  you,  and 
will  bring  up  flesh  upon  you,  and  cover  you 
with  skin,  and  put  breath  in  you,  and  ye  shall 
live,  and  ye  shall  know  that  I  am  the  Lord" 
(Ezek.  37 :  5,  6). 

The  Holy  Spirit  is  the  acknowledged  presi- 
dent in  the  church  of  Christ.  By  his  gracious 
influence  the  law  of  love  cements  and  binds  the 


ORGANIZED   BODIES.  199 

whole  together  as  one  body.  He  fills  all  with 
his  gracious,  illuminating  presence  and  influ- 
ence, and  there  is  a  society,  a  church  holding 
to  Christ  the  head,  as  the  bond  of  true  heavenly 
union,  called  out  by  the  Divine  Spirit,  and  liv- 
ing and  worshipping  in  the  unity  of  the  faith 
and  in  the  bond  of  peace.  Can  there  be  such 
an  organization  as  this,  where  every  part  is  so 
arranged  for  the  usefulness  of  the  whole,  as  that 
like  bone  to  bone  in  the  human  frame  so  they 
unite  ?  Paul,  under  the  figure  of  a  body,  thus 
expresses  himself  concerning  the  organization 
of  the  church  :  "  Holding  the  Head,  from  which 
all  the  body  by  joints  and  bands  having  nour- 
ishment ministered,  and  knit  together,  iucreas- 
eth  with  the  increase  of  God"  (Colossians  2  :  19). 
And,  under  the  figure  of  a  building,  he  thus 
writes  to  the  Ephesians  :  -  -  Ye  are  no  more  stran- 
gers and  foreigners,  but  fellow-citizens  with  the 
saints,  and  of  the  household  of  God ;  and  are 
built  upon  the  foundation  of  the  apostles  and 
prophets,  Jesus  Christ  himself  being  the  chief 
corner-stone ;  in  whom  all  the  building,  fitly 
framed  together,  groweth  into  a  holy  temple  in 
the  Lord  :  in  whom  ye  also  are  builded  together 
for  a  habitation  of  God  through  the  Spirit"  (Eph. 


200  ECCLESIASTICAL   OBSERVANCES. 

2 :  19-22).  Such  is  a  church  in  the  scriptural 
sense — an  organized  assembly  of  the  called-out, 
holding  to  Christ  the  head,  fitted  into  a  body 
for  usefulness  by  the  presiding  influence  of  the 
Holy  Spirit,  and  cemented  in  a  living  spiritual 
temple  for  the  true  worship  of  God  by  the  love 
of  the  Eternal  One. 

But  in  other  respects  the  company  of  believ- 
ers may  be  regarded  as  an  organized  assembly, 
whether  they  be  few  or  many.  The  great  Head 
of  the  church  having  promised  his  presence  with 
the  congregated  few  assembled  in  his  name,  and 
he  being  the  bond  of  union,  there  is  a  church ; 
and  in  its  organization  for  religious  observances 
he  has  mercifully  given  gifts  unto  men.  In  this 
relation  a  church  is  a  well-ordered  assembly, 
for,  as  Paul  says  — "He  gave  some,  apostles; 
and  some,  prophets ;  and  some,  evangelists ;  and 
some,  pastors  and  teachers ;  for  the  perfecting 
of  the  saints,  for  the  work  of  the  ministry,  for 
the  edifying  of  the  body  of  Christ :  till  we  all 
come,  in  the  unity  of  the  faith,  and  of  the  knowl- 
edge of  the  Son  of  God,  unto  a  perfect  man, 
unto  the  measure  of  the  stature  of  the  fulness 
of  Christ"  (Ephesians  4 :  11-13). 

The  church  under  such  an  organization  is  a 


ORGANIZED   BODIES.  201 

worshipping  assembly.  There  are  suitable  gifts 
bestowed,  and  these  exercised  are  for  the  edifi- 
cation and  increase  of  the  whole.  Prayer,  praise, 
exhortation,  preaching  the  word,  breaking  of 
bread,  and  other  instituted  ordinances  of  Heav- 
en, make  the  assembly  manifestly  a  church  of 
Christ  and  of  God,  "  the  pillar  and  the  ground 
of  the  truth."  E"o  threat  of  discipline  will  be 
required  to  constrain  the  members  of  such  a 
body  to  assemble  for  such'  glorious  and  blessed 
purposes — no  covenant  to  which  they  need  be 
called  to  subscribe,  pledging  themselves  to  at- 
tend at  those  seasons  when  the  church  is  con- 
vened together  in  one  place  ;  for  if  they  decline 
in  spiritual  things,  and  despise  their  privileges, 
a  word  will  seem  to  quicken  them  :  "  Forsake 
not  the  assembling  of  yourselves  together  as  the 
manner  of  some  is." 

The  church,  too,  as  an  organized  society,  has 
authority  for  the  exercise  of  suitable  and  neces- 
sary discipline.  The  laws  necessary  for  the  cor- 
rection of  misconduct  and  abuses  are  simple 
and  forcible.  The  unchristian  conduct  which 
one  member  may  show  toward  another  is  thus 
to  be  observed :  "  If  thy  brother  shall  trespass 
against  thee,  go  and  tell  him  his  fault  between 
y* 


202  ECCLESIASTICAL    OBSERVANCES. 

thee  and  him  alone :  if  he  will  hear  thee,  thou 
hast  gained  thy  brother ;  but  if  he  will  not  hear 
thee,  then  take  with  thee  one  or  two  more,  that 
in  the  mouth  of  two  or  three  witnesses  every 
word  may  be  established.  And  if  he  shall  neg- 
lect to  hear  them,  tell  it  unto  the  church :  but 
if  he  neglect  to  hear  the  church,  let  him  be  unto 
thee  as  a  heathen  man  and  a  publican"  (Matt. 
18  :  15-17).  The  act  must  be  a  very  grave  one 
to  which  reference  is  made,  by  the  very  course 
pursued,  and  we  see  that  the  wThole  line  of  con- 
duct to  be  observed,  is  designed  to  set  forth  de- 
sire and  concern  to  bring  the  offender  to  contri- 
tion and  restoration. 

In  the  same  chapter  from  which  the  above 
quotation  is  made,  we  find  Peter  inquiring  to 
what  degree  forgiveness  may  be  extended  to  an 
offending  brother.  He  says,  "Lord,  how  oft 
shall  my  brother  sin  against  me,  and  I  forgive 
him?  till  seven  times?"  To  which  Jesus  re- 
plied, ;- 1  say  not  unto  thee,  until  seven  times, 
but  until  seventy  times  seven."  Discipline  is 
to  be  exercised  after  the  most  extended  forbear- 
ance and  long-cherished  mercy,  as  the  Lord 
shows  by  the  way  in  which  we  as  continual  sin- 
ners are  forgiven  by  him. 


OKGANIZED   BODIES.  203 

In  acts  of  immoral  life,  and  in  renouncing  the 
faith,  there  is  the  power  invested  in  the  church 
to  excommunicate,  without  further  forbearance  ; 
but,  upon  godly  penitence  being  manifested, 
there  is  to  be  restoration.  Paul  directs  this 
course  concerning  the  incestuous  person  in  1 
Corinthians  5  :  tt,  5  :  "In  the  name  of  our  Lord 
Jesus  Christ,  when  ye  are  gathered  together, 
and  my  spirit,  with  the  power  of  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ,  to  deliver  such  a  one  unto  Satan  for  the 
destruction  of  the  flesh,  that  the  spirit  may  be 
saved  in  the  day  "of  the  Lord  Jesus."  And  it  is 
evident,  from  what  follows,  that  they  were  not 
to  eat  the  Lord's  Supper  with  such  an  offender 
among  them,  but  to  purge  out  this  leaven,  that 
they  may  be  unleavened.  So  in  reference  to 
the  restoration  of  the  same  individual,  who  had 
manifestly  become  penitent,  repenting  of  his 
sin  before  all.  "We  find  the  apostle  again  thus 
addressing  the  church  concerning  him  :  "  Suffi- 
cient to  such  a  man  is  this  punishment,  which 
was  inflicted  of  many.  So  that  contrariwise  ye 
ought  rather  to  forgive  him,  and  comfort  him, 
lest  perhaps  such  a  one  should  be  swallowed  up 
with  overmuch  sorrow.  Wherefore  I  beseech  you 
that  ye  would  confirm  your  love  toward  him," 


204 


ECCLESIASTICAL    OBSERVANCES. 


The  above  few  examples  may  lead  the  mind 
to  contemplate  what  is  set  forth  in  the  ISTew  Tes- 
tament with  regard  to  the  authority  invested  in 
the  church  to  exercise  discipline,  and  also  the 
spirit  in  which  it  should  be  done.  We  shall 
find  that,  as  an  organized  body  in  the  scriptu- 
ral sense,  there  is  no  license  for  coercive  treat- 
ment, or  the  exercise  of  any  discipline  for  mat- 
ters of  private  judgment,  or  differences  of  opin- 
ion relative  to  ordinances,  &c.  It  relates  to 
graver  matters  affecting  the  apparent  sincerity 
of  discipleship  to  Christ ;  and  how  tenderly  and 
cautiously  this  is  proceeded  with  may  be  left 
for  the  reader  to  judge  who  prayerfully  peruses 
the  word  of  God.  Whatever  is  done  to  any 
individual  member  of  the  professing  church  of 
Christ,  in  which  the  discipline  is  exercised  in  a 
spirit  of  self-gratification,  pride,  or  revenge,  is 
neither  approved  nor  recognised  by  God. 

Every  society  of  true  believers,  as  a  church, 
ought  to  have  interest  one  in  the  other,  and 
should  be  mutual  sympathizers  and  mutual  help- 
ers, for  they  have  need  one  of  the  other.  It  is 
also  certain  that,  though  a  little  assembly  is  des- 
ignated a  church,  and  is  truly  so,  yet  there  is  no 
exclu^iveness  about  it,  so  as  to  be  shut  up  to  it- 


ORGANIZED   BODIES.  205 

self.  In  a  most  important  sense,  its  state,  and 
every  action,  has  relation  to  the  one  universal 
church,  the  whole  body  of  Christ;  therefore, 
while  feeling  a  sort  of  independence,  as  owning 
no  Lord  but  one,  and  feeling  responsibility  only 
to  Christ,  yet  there  is  an  indissoluble  union  to 
the  whole  body,  and  the  relative  duties  bind  us 
to  the  whole,  so  that  really  there  can  not  exist 
that  independence  which  is  now  becoming  a  cur- 
rent doctrine,  and  even  boasted  in,  as  though 
there  were  free  license  to  treat  other  sections  of 
the  church  of  Christ  at  pleasure.  The  universal 
church  is  compacted  as  every  several  company, 
and  they  make  the  whole  body  of  which  Christ 
is  the  head  complete. 

When  we  regard  the  church  of  Christ  so  con- 
stituted in  the  observance  of  his  laws,  and  the 
discharge  of  wholesome  and  salutary  discipline, 
what  a  picture  is  presented  of  tenderness,  sin- 
cerity, sympathy,  and  firmness,  all  crowned  with 
the  grace  of  humility  !  Everything  is  pointed 
out,  and  every  provision  made,  by  the  Head  of 
the  church,  to  administer  to  her  prosperity; 
and,  by  the  proper  observance  of  all,  under  the 
guidance  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  the  church  must 
constantly  look  forth,  "  fair  as  the  moon,  clear 


206  ECCLESIASTICAL    OBSERVANCES. 


as  the  sun,  and  terrible  as  an  army  with  ban- 


SECTION   II. UNSCRIPTURALLY-ORGANIZED    CHRIS- 
TIAN   BODIES. 

Christian  organized  societies,  now  commonly 
called  churches,  among  all  denominations,  pre- 
sent a  perfect  contrast  to  those  we  have  just  no- 
ticed. We  call  them  churches,  to  be  under- 
stood, because  by  universal  adoption  they  are 
distinguished  by  the  name,  though  not  author- 
ized by  scripture.  They  truly  bear  the  open 
stamp  upon  them  that  they  are  the  work  of  men, 
from  the  hierarchy  of  the  pope  down  to  the  most 
insignificant  and  obscure  body  of  partisan  Chris- 
tians in  the  world.  Wherever  other  obligations 
and  requirements  are  presented  to  notice,  either 
apart  from  or  as  an  appendix  to  those  contained 
in  the  New  Testament,  antichrist  is  clearly  to 
be  discovered. 

The  first  prominent  feature  in  such  organiza- 
tions is  the  invented  terms  of  church-member- 
ship. This  takes  the  whole  matter  of  the  church 
out  of  the  hands  of  Christ.  Nothing  can  be 
more  certain  than  that  Christ  himself  makes  the 


ORGANIZED   BODIES.  207 

true  members  of  his  church,  and  puts  them  into 
that  relationship,  to  be  owned  as  such  by  the 
whole  body  when  they  are  renewed  by  the  Holy 
Spirit. 

JSow  it  is  manifest  that,  in  societies  called 
churches,  a  discretionary  pleasure  is  exercised 
concerning  what  believers  in  Jesus  they  shall 
receive  into  the  church,  and  what  believers  they 
shall  cast  away.  This  is  a  most  awful  assump- 
tion of  power.  All  that  believe  in  Christ  to  the 
salvation  of  the  soul  are  his  church  on  earth, 
and  his  only  visible  church.  It  wTould  be  as 
impossible  really  to  alter  this  state  of  things  as 
it  would  be  to  overturn  the  heavens :  they  are  in 
the  church  by  faith,  and  none  can  put  them  out. 

But  existing  regulations  among  Christian  so- 
cieties disown  this  church,  and  trample  Christ 
and  his  church  under  foot.  They  proclaim  that 
they  have  to  make  churches,  and  sit  in  council 
upon  the  maintenance  and  increase  of  them: 
therefore  terms  of  admission  are  boldly  declared. 

It  would  be  an  unheard-of  assumption  of  au- 
thority, if,  upon  an  addition  to  a  numerous  fam- 
ily, some  of  the  children  were  to  group  together 
and  say  of  the  new-born  infant — '  Before  we 
allow  this  child  to  be  one  of  us,  to  share  the 


208  ECCLESIASTICAL    OBSERVANCES. 

common  rights  and  benefits  of  the  family,  we 
will  require  certain  things  to  be  observed,  and 
then  we  will  decide  whether  this  little  stranger 
shall  be  the  child  of  our  common  parents' !  — 
though  the  father  had  actually  put  the  babe 
among  his  children,  and  given  it  participation  in 
the  inheritance  of  his  home  to  share  parental  care, 
a  father's  blessing,  protection,  and  support.  The 
usual  terms  of  admission  to  church-membership 
and  the  Lord's  table  display  all  this  folly  of  the 
family  group ;  and,  further,  fearfully  usurp 
rights,  and  so  rebel  against  Christ  in  his  author- 
ity over  the  church. 

It  may  be  thought  by  many  that  the  way  in 
which  we  have  brought  out  the  scripture  devel- 
opment of  Christian  ordinances  and  the  gospel 
church  or  churches,  that  we  have  exhibited  ma- 
ny things  which  are  universally  admitted  to  be 
in  the  New  Testament,  and  which  all  denomina- 
tions have  agreed  to  consider  non-essential.  The 
agreement  of  Christians  upon  essential  and  non- 
essential points  is  a  nice  matter  to  judge.  "We 
presume  that  it  ought  to  be  taken  for  granted 
that,  in  the  wisdom  of  God,  no  non-essential 
things  are  set  forth  in  the  New  Testament.  It 
is  not  a  book  of  words,  simply  for  the  sake  of 


ORGANIZED   BODIES.  209 

making  a  book,  but  every  sentence  is  a  sentence 
of  inspiration,  and  written  for  our  learning,  to 
describe  what  God  requires  of  us.  But  if  we 
consider  the  term  non-essential  to  apply  to  the 
matter  of  our  salvation,  we  then  say  there  is 
nothing  essential  to  salvation  but  believing  in 
the  Lord  Jesus  with  all  the  heart ;  and  faith  is 
only  the  means  to  an  end,  by  laying  hold  of  the 
salvation  which  Jehovah  has  provided  for  us. 
Therefore  it  is  written :  "  He  that  believeth  on 
the  Son  hath  everlasting  life :  and  he  that  be- 
lieveth not  the  Son  shall  not  see  life ;  but  the 
wrath  of  God  abideth  on  him." 

It  may  be  said  that,  to  turn  back  to  the  Scrip- 
tures to  follow  exclusively  what  is  there  for  rule 
and  government,  would  be  to  revolutionize  pres- 
ent Christian  churches.  If  such  would  be  the 
consequences  to  follow  upon  lifting  up  the  mir- 
ror of  truth,  and  examining  professedly  religious 
societies  called  churches  in  the  light  of  Divine 
revelation,  we  can  not  help  it.  We  ask,  '  Is  the 
likeness  drawn  a  likeness?  Is  there  faithful 
dealing  by  us  with  God's  word — the  mind  of 
the  Spirit  in  the  New  Testament  V 

To  reason  about  consequences  of  certain  prin- 
ciples laid  down  were  folly,  without  this  pri- 


mary  question  concerning  what  God  saith ;  and 
to  reason  about  consequences  after  it  is  estab- 
lished, that  what  is  advanced  is  in  accordance 
with  the  mind  of  God,  is  nothing  more  nor  less 
than  to  say  that  the  systems  of  men  are  better 
suited  to  accomplish  a  desired  end,  and  to  main- 
tain proper  order  in  their  accomplishment,  than 
that  which  the  Lord  has  laid  down  in  his  word. 

The  question  must  be,  '  Have  we  dealt  faith- 
fully in  what  we  have  exhibited  from  God's  word, 
in  relation  to  the  two  symbolical  ordinances  of 
the  Christian  dispensation,  and  the  character  of 
a  Christian  church  given  us  by  the  Holy  Spirit  V 
We  cast  off  all  the  sophistry  of  irrelevant  argu- 
ment, to  which  recourse  has  hitherto  ever  been 
had,  to  give  a  plausible  aspect  to  error.  Much 
precious  time  has  been  worse  than  wasted,  and 
many  books  been  written  proving  nothing,  yet 
answering  an  evil  end,  like  casting  dust  in  the 
eyes  of  men  to  prevent  their  seeing. 

We  say,  truth  must  be  exhibited,  and  that 
alone  will  stand  before  God :  if  it  offend,  or  de- 
molish our  cherished  plans  and  purposes,  it  is 
the  more  evident  that  we  have  followed  a  per- 
verse way,  and  to  persist  in  what  scripture  dis- 
allows is  a  fearful  omen.     "  Wo  unto  him  that 


ORGANIZED   BODIES.  211 

striveth  with  his  Maker!"  is  written  for  our 
warning. 

But  the  plan  pursued  in  bringing  forward  the 
New  Testament,  has  not  been  so  much  with  the 
view  to  insist  upon  the  observance  of  the  minu- 
tia,  as  it  has  been  in  some  respects  to  confound 
the  foolish  boasting  of  many,  who  profess  to  fol- 
low exactly  the  words  of  inspiration  in  all  mat- 
ters, and  demand  the  same  from  others  as  terms 
of  communion.  It  is  not  an  uncommon  thing 
to  hear  the  advocates  of  certain  men-invented 
systems,  when  apparently  defending  every  par- 
ticular connected  therewith,  exclaim,  if  any  dis- 
position is  offered  to  demur,  "  See  thou  make  all 
things  according  to  the  pattern  showed  to  thee 
in  the  mount"  !  —  applying  the  charge  given  by 
the  Lord  to  Moses  respecting  the  making  of  the 
tabernacle,  recorded  by  Paul  in  Hebrews  8  :  5, 
to  the  Christian  church ;  and  presuming  they 
have  "  thus  saith  the  Lord"  for  all  that  they  ob- 
serve, they  ignorantly  conclude  they  have  a 
victory  by  this  mere  use  of  words.  Take  their 
words,  or  rather  the  direction  given  to  Moses 
about  the  tabernacle  and  its  vessels,  and  apply 
it  to  the  things  which  they  advocate  and  call  a 
true  imitation  of  the  plan,  and  ordinances,  and 


212  ECCLESIASTICAL   OBSERVANCES. 

churches,  in  the  New  Testament — and,  behold, 
there  is  juxtaposition  (as  we  shall  proceed  to  ex- 
plain) to  all  we  meet  with  in  the  New  Testament, 
in  either  requirement,  observance,  or  spirit. 

SECTION    III. TEEMS   OF   CHURCH-MEMBERSHIP. 

There  are  various  requirements  made  besides 
faith  in  Christ,  before  admission  to  what  are 
called  Christian  churches  can  be  obtained.  Each 
society  of  Christians  has  something  peculiar  to 
itself  as  terms  for  admission.  But,  without  re- 
garding other  requirements,  it  is  enough  to  con- 
sider the  one  of  baptism.  It  is  plain  that  this  is 
nowhere  required  in  God's  word.  It  was  never 
considered  so  in  the  first  and  second  centuries 
of  the  Christian  church.  That  it  was  enjoined 
on  all  believers  to  be  baptized  must  be  admit- 
ted ;  but  to  be  baptized  in  order  to  be  members 
of  the  church  —  the  family  of  God — the  assem- 
bly of  saints  —  is  not  true.  Nothing  but  the 
idea  of  baptismal  regeneration,  or,  in  other 
words,  that  baptism  made  Christians,  gave  rise 
to  this  error. 

They  who  maintain  that  baptism  is  a  prere- 
quisite to  membership  in  the  church  of  Christ, 


ORGANIZED   BODIES.  213 

and  deny  that  baptism  makes  Christians,  are 
most  inconsistent :  they  drop  that  part  which  is 
repugnant  to  their  spiritual  minds  (of  the  error 
introduced  by  the  working  of  the  man  of  sin, 
and  the  mystery  of  iniquity),  and  hold  to  that 
which  is  less  offensive ;  if  they  renounce  bap- 
tismal regeneration,  which  Antichrist  makes  the 
door  to  the  church,  they  should  reject  the  whole, 
and  return  to  the  pure  principles  of  Christianity. 
Baptism  must  either  precede  regeneration, 
and  professed  faith  in  Christ,  or  follow  upon  it. 
If  it  precede  it,  it  makes  Christians,  and  is,  as 
multitudes  affirm,  "  the  door  to  the  church."  If 
it  follow  it,  it  is  after  they  are  members  of 
Christ's  church,  and  so  can  not  be  a  prerequi- 
site for  membership,  but  a  Christian  ordinance. 
There  can  be  no  third  position.  The  truth  is 
palpably  manifest:  there  is  no  ground  for  as- 
serting that  baptism  is  a  door  to  the  church, 
and  yet  reject  baptismal  regeneration.  It  is  an 
antichristlan  doctrine  to  affirm  that  baptism  is 
a  door  to  the  church ;  by  saying  so,  it  is  made 
a  term  of  membership,  and  goes  to  destroy  the 
acknowledgment  of  the  true  church  of  Christ ; 
by  such  a  term  the  authority  of  Christ  is  super- 
seded by  being  invested  with  men. 


214  ECCLESIASTICAL    OBSERVANCES. 

But  it  may  be  said,  this  is  an  extreme  view, 
which  may  be  true  in  relation  to  the  papal 
church,  and  some  protestant  churches  maintain- 
ing baptismal  regeneration,  but  not  so  with  oth- 
ers. It  may  be  said,  there  are  those  who  believe 
in  baptism  only  as  an  outward  ordinance  by 
which  there  is  the  avowed  profession  of  Chris- 
tianity; and  it  is  by  this  outward  profession 
that  they  are  received  to  the  outward  visible 
church  ;  it  is  an  open  acknowledgment  of  their 
conversion  and  belief  in  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ. 
But  this  is  only  gilding  over  the  error,  like  using 
different  devices  to  palm  off  counterfeit  coin. 
Baptism  is  for  no  such  purpose ;  the  Master  re- 
quires no  such  thing ;  he  makes  the  members 
of  the  visible  church,  and  the  change  of  char- 
acter, by  the  experience  of  what  the  Lord  has 
done  for  the  soul,  will  evidence  it — baptism 
can  not.  The  vilest  hypocrite  can  be  baptized, 
but  he  is  no  member  of  the  invisible,  nor  ought 
he  to  be  considered  of  the  visible  church.  It 
fills  one  with  amazement  to  hear  baptists  pro- 
claim that  the  practice  of  infant  baptism  and 
baptismal  regeneration  fills  the  professing  Chris- 
tian world  with  hypocrites,  and  is  subversive  of 
the  true  interests  and  spirituality  of  the  church, 


ORGANIZED   BODIES.  215 

while  they  are  introducing  a  host  of  hypocrites 
to  the  church  by  making  baptism  the  door  to 
the  church ! 

We  care  not  what  yon  demand  as  terms  of 
fellowship  to  any  particular  society.  You  may 
have  your  organized  companies,  and  demand 
the  consent  and  approval  to  all  the  things  you 
choose  to  invent,  be  it  an  acknowledgment  to 
a  certain  creed  which  you  have  adopted ;  a  sub- 
scription to  certain  laws,  by  which  all  shall  be 
governed ;  baptism  as  a  prerequisite  to  the  fel- 
lowship of  this  society ;  or  whatever  else  you 
may  please,  in  order  to  keep  together  a  snug 
and  compact  society:  but  in  such  a  capacity 
never  pretend  to  say  that  your  society  is  the 
church  of  Christ,  or  to  exercise  authority  over 
any  of  Heaven's  institutions,  ordinances,  or  priv- 
ileges, belonging  to  his  church  ;  otherwise,  the 
wo  denounced  by  Jesus  upon  the  scribes  and 
Pharisees,  who  made  void  the  law  of  God  by 
their  tradition,  will  come  upon  you,  and  we  can 
not  but  fear  that  the  commencement  of  its  exe- 
cution has  already  fallen.  The  Spirit's  influ- 
ences are  restrained,  and,  with  all  your  human 
inventions  and  organizations  of  Christian  socie- 
ties, instead  of  being  like  united  bodies,  in  peace 


216  ECCLESIASTICAL   OBSERVANCES. 

and  love,  they  are  disjointed  and  scattered 
abroad,  as  the  dry  bones  through  the  valley  of 
vision,  which  was  the  true  picture  of  God's  an- 
cient people  when  they  forsook  his  fear,  and 
walked  not  in  his  commandments. 

From  the  circumstance  of  there  being  no  au- 
thority in  the  word  of  God  to  make  baptism  the 
door  to  the  visible  church,  or  a  prerequisite  to 
church-membership,  those  who  advocate  it  point 
with  a  kind  of  triumph  to  universal  church  prac- 
tice. It  is  easy  for  the  baptist  to  say,  '  Chris- 
tian denominations  generally  so  regard  it ;'  but 
if  the  same  answers  were  made  to  them  concern- 
ing some  other  things  which  they  have  discoun- 
tenanced, they  would  be  indignant  at  being  re- 
ferred to  such  authority.  Tell  them  that  they 
must  hear  the  voice  of  the  church — that  be- 
cause she  says  baptismal  regeneration  is  true, 
and  infant  sprinkling  is  Christian  baptism,  they 
must  regard  the  voice  of  the  church  —  will  they 
not  say,  "To  the  word  and  the  testimony"  — 
that  they  esteem  nothing  as  binding  on  them 
that  they  have  not  a  "  thus  saith  the  Lord"  for? 
But  now,  faith  in  Christ  makes  members  of 
Christ's  church.  He  proclaims  nothing  else, 
the  Scriptures  require  nothing  else ;  yet  these 


ORGANIZED   BODIES.  217 

very  individuals,  who  denounce  church  author- 
ity, because  in  this  case  they  can  not  appeal  to 
the  word  and  the  testimony,  they  want  some- 
thing else,  and  say,  'Hear  the  church'  —  and 
turn  to  the  systems  of  men,  ready  to  acknowl- 
edge that  they  follow  them  even  in  their  heresy. 

SECTION  IV. MODES  OF  ADMISSION  TO  THE  CHURCH. 

Another  regulation  of  organized  bodies  where 
human  laws  subvert  the  authority  of  Christ,  is 
discovered  in  the  mode  of  admission  to  mem- 
bership. Members  in  baptist  churches  at  least 
are  admitted  by  the  vote  of  the  body.  Now  we 
ask,  who  ever  discovered  such  a  system  in  the 
New  Testament  ?  It  may  be  found  in  carnal 
and  worldly  clubs,  originated  by  men  devoid 
of  all  religious  sentiment,  but  it  is  a  most  bare- 
faced infringement  upon  the  authority  of  Christ. 
It  would  seem  necessarily  to  follow  upon  the 
subversion  of  Christ's  power  over  the  church ; 
for  his  church  once  cast  down,  and  men's  sys- 
tems set  up,  we  can  look  for  nothing  else  in  all 
that  follows  but  mere  human  authority. 

Here  stands  out  most  prominently  the  absurd- 
ity of  what  we  considered  in  the  foregoing  sec- 
10 


218  ECCLESIASTICAL   OBSERVANCES. 

tion,  where  part  of  the  heresy  of  antichristian 
doctrine  was  rejected,  and  the  other  part  re- 
tained. By  thus  retaining  one  part,  there  is 
now  in  what  we  are  considering  a  development 
of  still  grosser  error  as  a  consequence,  such  as 
that  into  which  the  papal  church  has  never  yet 
fallen.  Her  doctrine  of  baptismal  regeneration 
is  a  cursed  heresy,  but  she  keeps  to  the  whole, 
she  makes  Christians,  consequently  she  makes 
them  members  of  the  church  by  baptism  ;  and, 
by  the  right  of  being  Christian,  which  was  se- 
cured to  them  in  baptism,  they  are  acknowl- 
edged members :  so  that  she  pretends  to  no  fur- 
ther power.  Being  Christians,  they  can  not  be 
kept  out  of  the  church,  as  it  would  be  usurping 
the  headship  of  Christ  more  than  that  flagrant 
antichristian  church  has  yet  ever  done. 

Now  mark  —  close  baptists  say  faith  in  Christ 
must  be,  or  there  can  be  no  membership.  So 
says  Christ :  "  I  am  the  door :  by  me  if  any 
man  enter  in  he  shall  be  saved,  and  shall  go  in 
and  out  and  find  pasture"  (John  10 :  9).  On 
the  contrary,  they  who  believe  not  are  not 
members  of  the  church,  as  Christ  said:  "Ye 
believe  not  because  ye  are  not  of  my  sheep,  as 
I  said  unto  you"  (John  10  :  26).     Faith,  then,  is 


ORGANIZED   BODIES.  219 

a  prerequisite  ;  it  makes  manifest  the  called  out 
from  the  world  to  the  company  of  the  congre- 
gation of  believers.  Then  they  add,  '  Baptism 
is  a  prerequisite,  it  is  the  door  of  the  church  — 
and  none  are  members  of  the  church  till  they 
are  baptized.'  So  says  not  Christ,  but  it  is  the 
voice  from  the  papal  church,  because  baptism 
regenerates  and  makes  Christians.  (Baptism 
stands  as  an  ordinance  of  Christ's  kingdom — a 
blessed  ordinance  —  and  can  not  be  put  aside, 
or  treated  with  indifference ;  but  it  is  no  prere- 
quisite to  union  with  the  visible  church.  Christ 
adds  to  the  church  when  he  calls  sinners  by  his 
grace — not  when  they  are  baptized,  or  there 
would  be  the  highest  pretensions  established 
for  the  false  doctrine  of  baptismal  regeneration : 
they  are  shut  up  to  the  belief  that  baptism  is  an 
ordinance  of  the  church,  or  an  ordinance  by 
which  individuals  are  made  Christians,  which 
has  before  been  intimated,  or  there  is  no  truth 
in  saying  two  and  two  make  four.)  Then  with 
the  baptists  there  is  a  third  requisite  before  com- 
ing into  the  church.  Faith  is  not  enough ;  then 
comes  faith  and  baptism:  but  these  are  not 
enough — but  the  vote  of  the  church  is  para- 
mount, and  decides  if  the  baptized  believer  shall 


220  ECCLESIASTICAL   OBSERVANCES. 

be  a  member  or  not !  This  is  too  gross  for  the 
mother  of  harlots  and  the  great  antichristian 
apostacy.  We  question  if  the  devil  himself 
would  be  so  bold,  that,  after  Christ's  prerequi- 
site is  witnessed,  by  faith  in  his  name  for  salva- 
tion, and  the  antichristian  prerequisite  is  ob- 
served in  baptism — a  third  party  should  stand 
up,  claim  supremacy,  decide  the  matter,  and  it 
may  be  in  a  moment,  at  will  and  pleasure,  veto 
the  decision  of  both  Christ  and  Antichrist ! 

But  the  above  are  not  the  whole  of  the  re- 
quirements :  they  may  be  styled  the  first-class 
prerequisites  to  admission  to  these  organized 
societies  called  "  churches."  The  second  class, 
which  we  will  call  minor  prerequisites  for  ad- 
mission, are  multiplied  beyond  all  idea.  They 
vary  as  circumstances  vary,  and  well  they  may, 
for,  after  the  boundary  of  the  l^ew  Testament  is 
passed,  they  can  have  no  other  law  to  guide 
them  but  the  passions  and  inclinations  of  a  ma- 
jority. But,  to  obtain  the  sufferances  of  the 
society,  their  prerequisites  must  be  subscribed 
to :  it  may  be  that  you  are  not  to  be  a  member 
of  a  benefit-society,  or  freemasons'  lodge,  or  any 
odd-fellow  society ;  that  you  shall  be  an  aboli- 
tionist, or  not  an  abolitionist ;  or  a  member  of  a 


ORGANIZED   BODIES.  221 


temperance-society,  &c.  These  may  be  prere- 
quisites in  some  so-called  churches,  and  many 
other  things  equally  absurd.  Whatever  such 
churches  demand  you  must  yield,  or  they  veto 
your  being  a  member, 

It  may  be  inquired,  '  How  is  the  church  to 
be  preserved  from  amalgamation  with  the  world, 
and  how  to  be  preserved  from  being  entirely 
overrun  with  unchristian  characters,  but  by  the 
exercise  of  discretionary  power  V  Again :  \  If 
the  church  has  no  voice  in  the  admission  of 
members  to  her  body,  who  is  to  say  how  long 
she  is  to  continue  a  Christian  church  V 

There  is  reason  in  all  such  questions,  and  they 
ought  to  be  duly  regarded.  It  unquestionably 
is  obligatory  on  the  part  of  the  church  to  keep 
herself  as  free  as  possible  from  the  world  and 
from  men  of  the  world — very  much  more  so 
than  is  done  at  the  present,  with  all  the  process 
of  admission  to  fellowship.  It  is  but  too  evi- 
dent that  societies  bearing  the  name  of  Chris- 
tian churches,  under  the  present  plan  of  voting 
in  members  to  the  body,  have  not  shone  very 
brightly.  Though  members  have  been  required 
to  subscribe  to  such  a  diversity  of  regulations, 
and  promised  to  abide  by  certain  observances, 


222  ECCLESIASTICAL   OBSERVANCES. 

and  have  passed  through  so  many  preliminaries, 
it  has  done  nothing  to  keep  the  church  pure,  or 
from  being  crowded  out  by  lifeless  professors 
and  characters  unsound  in  the  faith. 

In  this  view  of  the  state  of  professing  Chris- 
tian societies,  it  may  be  asked,  'How  does  it 
come  to  pass  V  We  shall  probably  find  a  solu- 
tion by  considering  how  little  is  thought  of  god- 
liness as  the  primary  and  one  grand  considera- 
tion in  augmenting  numbers,  and  how  much  is 
thought  of  the  various  things  invented  as  grounds 
of  admission  to  their  societies ;  and,  since  the 
reception  or  rejection  is  to  rest  upon  sanction- 
ing these  whims  and  fancies  of  men,  it  is  more 
favorable  for  hypocrites  than  for  sincere  and 
truly-converted  souls.  These  with  the  New 
Testament  would  say,  '  They  want  to  lay  such 
burdens  upon  my  conscience  as  neither  Christ 
requires  nor  I  am  able  to  endure,  if  I  bow  to 
his  supreme  authority.'  Hypocrites,  who  have 
no  conscience  in  the  matter  of  true  Christianity, 
for  the  sake  of  the  name  of  being  reckoned 
among  Christians  in  their  societies  will  say 
1  Amen'  to  ail  thai  is  demanded,  and  obtain  the 
vote  of  the  majority  to  be  reckoned  among  the 
body ;  while  the  minority,  trodden  down,  are 


ORGANIZED   BODIES.  223 

afraid  to  speak  :  the  padlock  is  put  upon  their 
lips,  while  they  groan  in  spirit,  and  cry  out  to 
the  Lord,  as  another  and  another  is  added  to 
the  body  —  'Alas,  no  evidence  there,  O  Lord, 
of  thy  gracious  work  upon  the  heart !' 

The  church  has  no  authority  to  exercise  any 
action  in  the  way  of  vote  for  the  addition  of 
members.  The  interests  of  the  church  are  bet- 
ter guarded  by  the  Holy  Spirit  than  by  human 
enactments.  We  are  required  by  the  Scriptures 
of  the  New  Testament  to  receive  those  whom 
Christ  has  received ;  and  the  way  of  knowing 
them  is  by  their  communicating,  perhaps  by 
another,  the  merciful  dealings  of  the  Lord ;  and 
where  there  is  a  pastor,  it  may  be  more  proper- 
ly through  him.  If  the  church  be  a  spiritual 
assembly,  it  will  soon  feel  and  recognise  the 
hand  of  the  Lord  in  this  work  :  a  union  of  spirit 
will  be  the  result,  and  with  it  a  cheerful  ac- 
knowledgment that  Christ  has  added  another 
soul  to  the  church. 

Let  this  be  the  only  way  into  the  church — 
let  it  bear  the  aspect  of  a  spiritual  body,  disen- 
cumbered of  worldly  laws  and  worldly  policy 
—  and  we  shall  find  but  very  few  who  are  not 
sincerely  converted  to  God,  applying  for  fellow- 


224  ECCLESIASTICAL   OBSERVANCES. 

ship  with  the  church.  But  should  any  not 
taught  by  God  apply,  it  would  at  once  be  seen 
by  the  presiding  pastor  and  the  members  also 
that  there  was  not  a  change  of  heart,  and  then 
it  would  be  said  to  such :  '  We  do  not  see  that 
you  are  converted  by  the  grace  of  God ;  you 
had  better  examine  yourself  by  the  word  of 
God' — pointing  out  to  such  what  is  necessary 
to  be  done  by  Christ  for  the  soul  in  order  to  be  a 
member  of  his  church.  Such  remarks,  with  the 
promise  of  the  whole  body  to  pray  earnestly 
for  the  conversion  of  the  individual,  may  be  a 
blessing  to  such  and  to  the  church. 

If  such  a  course  could  be  adopted,  and  all  the 
systems  which  men  have  invented  be  laid  aside, 
there  is  no  doubt  but  there  would  be  such  pu- 
rity in  the  church,  such  prosperity  in  spiritual 
things,  such  heavenly  light  and  joy,  that  the 
church  would  appear  like  a  new  creation,  and, 
if  continued,  would  evidence  the  presence  and 
power  of  the  Divine  Spirit  in  a  way  and  man- 
ner that  has  not  been  known  perhaps  since  the 
closing  of  the  first  century  of  the  Christian  era. 
The  purity  and  distinction  of  the  church  from 
the  world  is  not  to  be  by  human  schemes,  but  by 
a  close  observance  of  the  requirements  of  Christ 


ORGANIZED    BODIES.  225 


and  dependence  upon  the  gracious  Spirit.  We 
may  rest  assured  that,  if  the  members  be  holy, 
the  world  will  not  intrude  upon  the  church.  If 
we  must  have  our  denominational  societies,  let 
us  have  them  in  such  a  way  that  in  the  ordi- 
nances of  Divine  institution  we  may  feel  that 
we  are  one  with  the  universal  church,  and  no 
schismatics. 

SECT.  V. THE  RELATIVE   POSITION  OF  ORDINANCES. 

The  way  in  which  the  two  symbolical  ordi- 
nances given  by  Christ  for  his  disciples  to  ob- 
serve are  made  relatively  to  bear  one  upon  the 
other  is  an  assumption  of  organized  societies. 
These  two  symbolical  ordinances  we  have  con- 
sidered. They  have  been  exalted  by  the  church 
out  of  their  place,  and  in  the  maintenance  of 
this  sinful  magnitude  of  two  simple  institutions 
the  church  has  been  rent  into  a  thousand  pieces ; 
they  have  been  made  to  subserve  the  grossest 
heresies  hell  could  invent,  such  as  baptismal  re- 
generation and  the  doctrine  of  transubstantia- 
tion.  Under  false  notions  on  these  two  ordinan- 
ces every  denomination  of  Christians  has  been 
racked,  pained,  and  tossed  upon  the  waves  of 
10* 


226  ECCLESIASTICAL   OBSERVANCES. 

bitter  controversy.  Every  law  of  Heaven  for 
the  Christian  church  has  been  constantly  tram- 
pled under  foot  in  the  maddened  excitement 
about  these  two  ordinances,  while  comparative- 
ly no  notice  has  been  taken  of  the  dishonor  done 
to  other  institutions  of  Christ. 

We  have  not  now  to  turn  to  the  institutions 
themselves ;  the  views  entertained  of  them  have 
been  given  under  their  respective  heads.  Our 
inquiry  now  is,  how  far  they  are  relatively  com- 
bined ;  what  relation  the  one  bears  to  the  other ; 
and  how  far  there  can  be  necessity  to  neglect 
the  observance  of  the  one  until  the  other  has 
been  obeyed. 

It  is  maintained,  by  baptists  advocating  re- 
stricted communion,  that  they  are  so  connected 
the  one  to  the  other,  and  have  such  a  relative 
dependence  the  one  upon  the  other,  that  it  is 
ecclesiastically  impossible  to  get  at  the  one  with- 
out first  duly  observing  the  other.  These  prem- 
ises are  decidedly  false :  they  are  so  upon  the 
very  ground  that  positive  institutions  of  a  dif- 
ferent nature  must  of  necessity  be  independent 
one  of  the  other,  unless  by  an  express  law  they 
are  united,  as  were  circumcision  and  the  pass- 
over. 


ORGANIZED    BODIES.  227 

Turn  to  the  law  of  the  institutions  from  the 
great  Lawgiver  himself — and  there  can  not 
be  the  slightest  inference  that  Christ  ever  in- 
tended that  the  one  should  have  any  relation  to 
the  other.  As  positive  institutes  of  the  king- 
dom of  Christ,  they  differ  nothing  from  every 
other  command  of  Christ,  only  that  they  are 
symbolical  ordinances.  They  have  a  bearing 
one  upon  the  other  just  as  much  as  all  the  com- 
mands of  Christ  have,  and  no  more. 

It  is  affirmed  that  baptism  has  the  first  claim 
to  attention  as  an  initiatory  ordinance  to  the 
Christian  church,  and  then  the  Lord's  Supper 
as  a  church  ordinance  should  afterward  be  ob- 
served, and  that  this  order  ought  not  to  be  dis- 
turbed. Baptism  doubtless  has  the  first  claim 
to  the  Christian's  attention,  but  not  upon  the 
ground  of  its  being  the  initiatory  ordinance  to 
the  church  ;  the  fallacy  of  this  assumption  has 
already  been  exploded.  It  is  therefore  enough 
here  to  say  that  this  is  not  in  the  word  of  God. 
It  may  be,  for  aught  we  know,  in  some  of  the 
heretical  writings  of  some  of  the  first  apostates ; 
but  in  the  New  Testament  Christ  added  to  the 
church,  and  then  they  were  baptized,  as  a  pro- 
fession of  that  faith  which  they  had,  the  result 


228  ECCLESIASTICAL   OBSERVANCES. 

of  their  being  by  his  Spirit  made  members  of 
Christ  and  heirs  of  the  kingdom.  But  in  point 
of  time,  when  the  ordinances  were  instituted, 
there  is  no  ground  for  regarding  baptism  as  hav- 
ing priority  of  claim ;  it  is  unquestionably  false 
to  say  that  baptism  was  instituted  before  the 
Lord's  Supper,  and  we  are  compelled  to  con- 
clude that  there  is  not  an  individual  who  would 
assert  it,  were  it  not  that  they  can  not  find  suf- 
ficient props  to  sustain  their  cherished  dogmas 
and  exclusive  denominational  creeds  without 
dragging  in  John's  baptism,  and  making  it  a 
Christian  ordinance  :  but  that  sophistry  we  have 
exploded.  The  eucharist  or  Lord's  Supper  was 
the  first  symbolical  ordinance  instituted :  this 
was  on  the  memorable  eve  of  the  crucifixion  of 
Jesus.  The  ordinance  of  Christian  baptism  was 
not  instituted  till  after  Christ's  resurrection,  nor 
observed  until  the  day  of  pentecost. 

It  is  affirmed  that  there  is  such  a  connection 
existing  between  the  two  ordinances,  that  none 
have  a  right  to  commemorate  the  Lord's  death 
till  they  have  been  baptized.  We  ask  for  proof, 
for  we  have  never  found  it  in  the  word  of  God, 
nor  the  shadow  of  semblance  to  defend  the  as- 
sertion ;  all  the  evidence  adduced  is  to  this  effect 


ORGANIZED   BODIES.  229 

(quotation  from  R.  Fuller  on  "  Terms  of  Com- 
munion," page  190) :  "  By  the  standards  of  all 
churches,  baptism  is  required  before  any  candi- 
date is  admitted  to  membership  ;  and  this  is  the 
reason  why  baptism  has  always  been  regarded 
as  a  prerequisite  to  the  supper."  Such  is  the 
"  proof"  of  a  stickler  for  restricted  communion 
among  baptists ;  surely  he  had  better  have  gone 
to  sleep  than  to  have  written  it !  What  does  it 
amount  to?  Is  it  not,  in  effect,  saying — 'I 
have  no  scriptural  authority  ;  but  never  mind, 
hear  the  church  —  that  will  do  when  we  can  not 
get  better  evidence'  ? 

We  now  turn  to  scripture  for  proof  that  the 
position  is  a  glaringly  false  one.  The  supper 
was  eaten  before  the  institution  of  the  ordinance 
of  baptism,  and  that,  too,  as  administered  by 
Christ  to  the  assembled  apostles  before  he  suf- 
fered, as  Paul  emphatically  describes — -"the 
same  night  in  which  he  was  betrayed."  And, 
after  his  resurrection,  he  was  known  to  the  two 
disciples  at  Emmaus  as  he  brake  bread  and  gave 
to  them ;  and  probably  on  other  occasions,  be- 
fore his  ascension,  he  administered  the  supper 
to  his  disciples.  They  were  unbaptized,  for  the 
ordinance  of  baptism  had  not  then  been  insti- 


tuted.  The  words  of  Jesus  in  administering  the 
supper  prove  that  nothing  was  required  of  the 
communicant  but  a  discerning  of 'the  Lord's 
body  and  blood ;  and  is  it  possible  that  Jesus 
could  have  designed  that  the  unbaptized  should 
have  been  prohibited  from  commemorating  his 
death,  when  he  was  the  cause  of  such  a  striking 
example  to  the  contrary,  and  enjoined  its  repe- 
tition, and  practised  it,  too,  without  any  provis- 
ion of  the  kind  ?  Again :  when  he  instituted 
baptism,  he  would  of  course  have  said  that  in 
future  time  baptism  must  be  observed  by  all 
disciples,  or  they  must  be  prohibited  from  eat- 
ing his  supper ;  but  not  a  word  to  this  effect 
proceeded  from  his  lips.  It  is,  in  truth,  just 
about  as  evident  that  the  one  is  depending  upon 
the  other,  as  that  the  salvation  of  man  is  de- 
pending upon  either,  which  all  will  assuredly 
reject  as  a  fatal  error. 

We  are  advocates  for  baptism,  to  occupy  its 
right  position,  and  for  it  to  be  administered  in 
its  true  scriptural,  way  to  the  legitimate  sub- 
jects. We  would  be  second  to  none  in  enjoin- 
ing the  observance  of  all  things  whatsoever  the 
Lord  hath  commanded ;  but  if  any  do  not  ob- 
serve the  obligation  as  we  regard  it  in  the  Scrip- 


ORGANIZED   BODIES.  231 

tures,  but  verily  believe  they  have  obeyed  the 
command  in  another  way,  then  God  forbid  that 
we  should  lord  it  over  his  heritage,  and  take 
rule  and  authority  which  he  has  never  delegated. 
What,  say  to  the  people  whom  Christ  redeemed 
with  his  own  blood, '  You  shall  not  come  to  com- 
memorate his  precious  death,  because  you  have 
not  trodden  in  the  steps  that  I  approve' !  Mul- 
titudes do  this,  and  think  they  verily  do  God 
service,  as  much  as  did  Saul  of  Tarsus  when  he 
persecuted  the  saints  of  God. 

SECTION  VI. THE   AUTHORITY    EXERCISED    OVEB 


Christ  has  spread  a  table  in  this  wilderness, 
to  which  he  has,  without  exception,  invited  all 
his  family  to  come.  It  is  spread  for  the  chil- 
dren, and  there  they  are  to  eat  and  drink  by 
faith,  and  partake  of  such  memorials  of  his  body 
and  blood  as  he  has  instituted,  which  are  bread 
and  wine.  "What  can  be  more  simple,  what 
more  significant,  what  more  unrestricted,  than 
what  the  Lord  has  here  required  of  all  to  ob- 
serve ? 

This  feast  is  for  a  company,  few  or  many, 


232  ECCLESIASTICAL   OBSERVANCES. 

when  come  together;  all  are  welcome  whom 
Christ  has  called  by  his  Spirit  from  the  world 
into  the  fellowship  of  his  gospel  and  kingdom 
of  his  grace.  In  this  company  no  one  engages 
to  do  what  he  does  as  accountable  to  his  fellow- 
man,  or  as  judging  his  brother,  or  the  motives 
of  any  present ;  the  one  thing  is  to  have  fellow- 
ship with  Christ  in  his  sufferings,  to  discern 
him  in  all  that  is  now  done  at  the  feast,  and  to 
seek  the  personal  realization  of  the  blessings  of 
salvation — an  interest  in  the  substitutionary 
sacrifice  of  Christ.  No  heretic  should  be  there ; 
no  immoral  person  should  be  there ;  no  unre- 
newed person  should  be  there :  each  of  such 
class  of  characters,  so  far  as  we  can  discern 
them,  should  be  shut  out.  Everything  so  far  is 
clear  in  the  word  of  God ;  all  the  rest  are  made 
holy  by  the  Spirit  in  regeneration,  and  are  liv- 
ing by  faith  upon  the  Son  of  God :  they  are  the 
welcomed  and  invited  guests  by  Jesus. 

They  who  have  given  themselves  to  a  church, 
and  are  of  the  visible  company,  and  in  the  habit 
of  assembling  with  the  disciples  of  such  a  local- 
ity as  they  reside  in,  for  Divine  worship,  have 
undoubted  right  to  the  table  of  the  Lord  any- 
where and  everywhere  within  the  compass  of 


ORGANIZED   BODIES.  233 

the  whole  universal  church  —  the  table  never 
being  spread  for  a  society  of  Christians  in  the 
scriptural  sense,  but  for  the  church.  It  there- 
fore can  only  be  required  of  any  individual, 
travel  where  he  may  over  the  globe,  and  be  of 
whatever  denomination  of  faithful  and  true 
Christians,  to  report  himself  as  a  brother  in 
Christ,  and  of  an  assembly  or  a  church  in  a  cer- 
tain locality,  and  his  right  is  common  with  all 
to  the  Lord's  table.  This  is  the  true  spirit  of 
the  New  Testament,  and  according  to  the  laws 
of  Christ  and  the  observances  of  the  inspired 
apostles.  Baptized  or  unbaptized  was  never 
the  question :  the  fact  of  belonging  to  a  church 
of  the  faithful  was  a  passport  to  the  table  of  the 
Lord  all  over  the  world. 

But  is  this  regarded  and  practised  ?  It  is  not ; 
and  hence  has  arisen  the  strong  party-feelings 
leading  to  every  evil,  and  the  adoption  of  the 
most  flagrant  errors.  Christ's  beloved  and  bride 
is  one,  but  usurpers  and  dogmatical  fanatics 
have  torn  her  limb  from  limb  ;  they  have  piece- 
mealed  her  out,  as  plunderers  and  robbers  will 
divide  their  booty.  Imperfect  men,  though 
Christians,  are  not  now  destined  to  see  eye  to 
eye ;  they  have  therefore  to  bear  and  forbear 


234  ECCLESIASTICAL    OBSERVANCES. 

with  each  other's  differences  of  opinions,  while 
they  hold  to  Christ  by  faith  for  salvation. 

Authority  exercised  over  the  Lord's  table  so 
as  to  exclude  from  it  any  of  the  members  of  the 
visible  church,  is  a  presumption,  and  nothing 
short  of  rebellion  against  Christ  in  his  kingdom.. 
He  has  said  to  all  his  followers,  "  Come  /"  but 
they  stand  in  the  way  of  approach,  saying  to 
whomsoever  they  will,  'You  shall  not  comeP 
Can  there  be  more  determined  opposition  to  the 
.will  of  Christ  than  this  ?  This  is  the  plain  state- 
ment of  the  case  between  Christ  and  those  of 
his  professed  disciples  who  claim  any  right  to 
keep  from  his  table  a  single  individual  member 
of  any  church.  It  can  not  be  supposed,  for  a 
moment,  that  any  true  Christian  could  assume 
this  solemn  position  with  wilful  determination, 
but  under  the  conviction  that  there  is  full  per- 
mission given  by  the  Saviour ;  yea,  that  he  re- 
quires of  his  disciples  this  exercise  of  discretion- 
ary power.  Therefore,  we  do  not  view  the  act 
in  the  light  of  wilful  rebellion  against  Christ,  or 
a  wicked  disposition  to  lord  it  over  the  saints, 
but  as  the  fruit  of  misguided  zeal ;  and  though 
this  may  sound  harsh  to  some,  yet  it  allows  no 
qualification:  it  is  a  monstrous  practice,  and 


ORGANIZED   BODIES.  235 

the  most  favorable  Christian  construction  that 
can  be  put  upon  such  unfounded  claim  to  au- 
thority must  be,  that  "  they  know  not  what  man- 
der  of  spirit  they  are  of." 

Governed,  then,  by  an  erroneous  impression 
that  a  power  is  invested  with  them,  we  must 
endeavor  to  examine  some  of  the  grounds  upon 
which  it  is  said  to  be  supported,  and  expose  the 
fallacy  of  the  system.  Our  attention  is  more 
particularly  drawn  to  the  restricted  communion- 
ists  of  the  baptist  denomination.  It  is  with  them 
we  have  to  do,  and  with  them  we  find  the  most 
intolerant  conduct  pursued  toward  other  Chris- 
tian denominations  —  at  least  of  all  the  protest- 
ant  denominations  throughout  Christendom  — 
in  dogmatical  pretensions  and  assumed  power 
over  Christians  and  churches. 

SECTION  VII. THE  RESTRICTED  COMMUNION  OF  OR- 
GANIZED BAPTISTS'  CHURCHES  NOT  AUTHORIZED  IN 
SCRIPTURE. 

We  are  not  aware  that,  among  all  the  advo- 
cates for  restricted  communion  (that  is,  for  pow- 
er to  shut  up  the  Lord's  table  to  their  little  par- 
ties), there  has  been  any  appeal  to  the  word  of 


God,  as  directly  authorizing  it.  The  authority 
.therefore  must  be  acknowledged  as  inferential ; 
no  baptist  in  his  exclusiveness  professes  to  find 
higher  authority  than  this. 

They  have  sought  in  vain  for  direct  precept, 
or  any  sentence,  however  obscure,  that  could 
bear  any  turning  to  appear  like  a  precept.  It 
is  true  in  some  of  their  writings  we  find  them 
saying  that  i  Christ  has  commanded  that  bap- 
tism should  precede  eating  the  Lord's  Supper,' 
and  that  *  Christ  has  commanded  that  baptism 
should  be  a  prerequisite  to  the  table  of  the  Lord.' 
But  such  sentences,  which  often  appear  in  the 
writings  of  the  advocates  for  restricted  com- 
munion, are  only  a  mere  flourish  of  words,  and 
perfectly  untrue.  Therefore  they  never  give 
scripture  for  it,  because  they  can  not,  but  sup- 
port the  assumption  that  it  is  Christ's  command 
by  appealing  to  the  sayings  of  early  Christians 
and  their  practices — to  the  Romish  church,  and 
forsooth  to  protestant  pedobaptists — while  they 
most  fully  declare,  throughout  their  writings, 
that  pedobaptism  is  not  Christian  baptism  at  all. 

"Where  is  the  consistency  of  this  ?  It  is  a  mis- 
erable subterfuge  upon  which  to  found  so  sol- 
emn an  act 'as  that  of  shutting  up  the  table  of 


ORGANIZED   BODIES.  237 

the  Lord  to  a  little  party,  saying,  'It  is  dele- 
gated authority  from  Christ,'  without  one  word 
in  the  Booh  to  prove  that  any  authority  is  given, 
but,  on  the  contrary,  every  word  bearing  on  the 
subject  in  the  New  Testament,  and  in  the  spirit 
of  the  Revelation,  leading  to  conclusions  per- 
fectly at  variance  with  the  assumption. 

But  now  it  is  admitted  by  some  candid  bap- 
tists, who  have  studied  the  subject,  that  restrict- 
ed*communion  is  sustained  by  inference.  In  a 
forensic  sense,  inferential  testimony  is  often  con- 
sidered the  most  conclusive.  This  may  be  for 
many  reasons,  when  it  relates  to  matters  of  a 
worldly  nature  between  man  and  man,  where 
at  best  they  are  sinners  and  erring  mortals  ;  pos- 
itive testimony  may  be  foresworn,  while  inferen- 
tial may  be  convincingly  truthful ;  but  in  infer- 
ential conclusions  in  matters  of  religion,  where 
it  regards  God  and  man,  the  position  is  vastly 
weakened. 

Strictly  speaking,  inferential  conclusions  in 
almost  all  matters  of  a  weighty  bearing  on  reli- 
gion are  to  be  discarded,  because  the  great  Law- 
giver has  in  every  such  instance  taken  care  that 
decisions  shall  not  be  so  arrived  at  by  fallible 
men  in  relation  to  the  government  of  his  king- 


238  ECCLESIASTICAL    OBSERVANCES. 

dom.  The  proper  position  here  to  take  is — 
'  What  saith  the  Master  in  this  particular  mat- 
ter of  doubt  V  And  if  the  answer  is,  '  He  hath 
said  nothing,'  it  is  evidently  going  out  of  the 
true  and  legitimate  way  to  suppose  he  meant 
something,  hut  did  not  speak  concerning  it,  up- 
on the  ground  that  his  people  might  draw  infer- 
ences in  after-times  from  what  others  may  have 
been  supposed  to  have  done,  and  thus  establish 
the  ground  of  authority. 

We  must  confess  that  no  inferences  would  do 
for  us  in  matters  so  grave,  even  could  they  be 
made  to  border  on  precept.  Nothing  but  a  di- 
rect command  from  Christ  could  make  us  favor 
restricted  communion.  The  matter  itself  is  man- 
ifest, in  the  light  of  truth,  that  nothing  short  of 
an  absolute  command  should  induce  any  to  shut 
out  Christ's  followers  from  the  table  which  he 
has  spread  in  the  emblems  of  his  body  and  blood, 
seeing  his  command  to  observe  it  is  unrestricted. 

SECT.  VIII. THE   GROUNDS    UPON  WHICH   RESTRICT- 
ED   COMMUNION   IS   DEFENDED. 

In  the  inferential  testimony  for  restricted  com- 
munion, the  following  are  the  most  weighty,  and 


ORGANIZED   BODIES.  239 

perhaps  all  the  reasons  adduced,  worthy  of  no- 
tice, to  justify  the  practice:  — 

1.  The  priority  of  baptism  to  the  Lord's  Sup- 
per, as  an  institution  of  Christ's  kingdom.  But 
this  is  not  true ;  and  if  it  were,  it  is  nothing  to 
the  purpose  —  which  would  be  unnecessary  to 
explain,  having  demonstrated  the  position  to 
be  false  when  proving  John's  baptism  not  Chris- 
tian. The  thing  is  altogether  reversed,  and  what 
is  advanced  upon  this  ground  of  authority  turns 
out  to  be  in  favor  of  unrestricted  communion. 
This,  therefore,  is  swept  away  from  under  these 
advocates  of  restricted  communion. 

2.  From  the  apostolic  commission  to  baptize, 
it  is  said  that  "  the  commission  clearly  indicates 
that  baptism  preceded  the  Lord's  Supper,  and 
is  prerequisite  to  it"  (J.  B.  Taylor  on  restricted 
communion,  page  7).  Doubtless  baptism  is  an 
ordinance  instituted  for  observance  at  the  very 
outset  of  a  Christian  career ;  it  was  designed  for 
the  beginning  and  not  for  the  middle  or  end  of 
a  Christian  life  ;  but  a  profession  of  Christianity 
can  be  made  without  it,  and  is  by  nine  tenths 
of  Christians,  as  baptists  allow,  for  they  do  not 
admit  that  those  have  been  baptized  who  were 
sprinkled  in  infancy,  and  have  a  right  to  the 


240 


ECCLESIASTICAL   OBSERVANCES. 


table  of  the  Lord  in  their  own  denominations. 
But  where  is  the  prerequisiteness  to  admission 
to  the  Lord's  table  in  baptism  ?  has  it  anything 
to  do  with  a  positive  institution  of  another  or- 
der? or,  did  Christ  give  it  forth  as  his  will  that 
the  one  should  rest  upon  the  other?  He  abso- 
lutely makes  the  observance  of  the  one  and  the 
other  rest  upon  faith,  a  common  prerequisite  to 
both.  Is  it  not  unaccountable  that  men  should 
contend  that  the  observance  of  one  of  these  or- 
dinances is  a  prerequisite  to  the  other  ?  Besides, 
as  we  have  shown  in  the  foregoing  section,  Christ 
administered  the  supper  to  the  un baptized ;  — 
surely  this  is  sufficient  of  itself,  without  another 
word,  to  clear  away  this  second  inferential  au- 
thority. 

3.  Apostolic  example  is  adduced  as  another 
evidence  confirmatory  that  there  is  right  to  the 
exercise  of  this  authority.  But  where  is  the 
apostolic  example  ?  do  we  find  any  instance  on 
record  where  a  believer  was  rejected  by  the 
apostles  from  the  table  of  the  Lord  because  he 
was  not  baptized  ?  JVo,  not  one.  '  But  this  is 
not  what  we  mean,'  they  will  say,  '  by  apostolic 
example,  but  that  of  unbaptized  believers  going 
to  the  Lord's  table.'     That  they  did  not,  is  only 


supposititious  —  we  do  not  know  it  for  certain. 
But  let  us  grant  this :  what  then  ?  how  does  it 
support  the  assertion  that  the  apostles  required 
baptism  as  a  prerequisite  to  the  Lord's  table  ? 
We  say  it  does  not,  and  we  prove  it.  Paul  says 
not  a  syllable  about  baptism,  but  shows  that  his 
mind  embraced  nothing  but  faith  as  the  qualifi- 
cation, and  sums  up  what  he  had  to  say  thus : 
"  He  that  eateth  and  drinketh  unworthily,  eat- 
eth  and  drinketh  damnation  to  himself,  not"  — 
being  baptized  f  no,  mark  —  "  not  discerning  the 
Lord's  body."  There  is  no  apostolic  example, 
then,  for  restricted  communion,  but  rather  apos- 
tolic example  favors  unrestricted  communion. 

4.  The  nature  and  design  of  the  two  institu- 
tions are  affirmed  to  be  authority.  Their  sym- 
bolical representations,  of  course,  are  here  meant 
— and,  as  stated  by  Dr.  Howell  ("  Terms  of  Com- 
munion," page  47) :  "  Baptism  being  the  emblem 
of  the  reception  of  life,  and  the  eucharist  of  the 
food  by  which  we  are  sustained,  the  metaphori- 
cal representation  requires  that  baptism  should 
always  be  received  as  a  condition  of  commun- 
ion." Strange  that  men,  who  have  recourse  to 
such  weak  positions,  do  not  see  themselves  that 

their  miserable  shifts  are  powerful  arguments 
11 


242  ECCLESIASTICAL   OBSERVANCES. 

against  their  own  systems !  It  is  about  the  most 
puerile  manner  of  going  about  to  defend  an  as- 
sumed position  that  any  zealot  could  be  guilty 
of.  Then  J.  G.  Fuller  (on  "  Communion  Conver- 
sation," 3)  says :  "  You  have  no  more  scriptural 
evidence  that  faith  is  an  indispensable  term  of 
baptism,  than  we  have  that  baptism  is  an  indis- 
pensable term  of  communion."  How  could  a 
man  ever  read  the  Scriptures,  and  state  such  a 
palpable  untruth? — for  Christ  demands  faith  as 
a  prerequisite  to  baptism,  while  the  baptists  ad- 
mit that  "  the  New  Testament  does  not  prohibit 
the  unbaptized  from  receiving  the  Lord's  Sup- 
per" (Kinghorn — "  Baptism  a  Term  of  Commun- 
ion," page  32).  And  this  Mr.  Fuller  endorses, 
and  thereby  condemns  his  own  assertion.  But 
this  is  no  uncommon  position  with  these  writers 
— in  one  breath  they  affirm,  what  in  another 
they  deny.  One  asserts  one  position  to  be  the 
stronghold,  while  another  demolishes  it  and  sets 
up  another. 

The  grand  position  of  restricted  communion- 
ists  is,  that  believers'  baptism  is  an  indispensa- 
ble qualification  for  communion  at  the  Lord's  ta- 
ble. Now  see  how  they  contradict  themselves : 
"  We  admit  that  our  brethren"  (that  is,  pedobap- 


ORGANIZED    BODIES.  243 

tists)  "  are  entitled  to  the  Lord's  Supper"  (J.  G. 
Fuller  on  "  Commun.  Conversation,"  3.)  "  There 
is  no  reason  why  we  should  breathe  a  murmur 
against  them  because  they  take  the  Lord's  Sup- 
per in  their  own  churches"  (Curtis  on  commun- 
ion, p.  190).  "  On  his  own  principles"  (that  is, 
a  pedobaptist),  "  he  is  entitled  to  approach  the 
Lord's  table"  (Howell,  "  Terms  of  Com.,"  p.  100). 
Do  they  not  impeach  themselves  ?  Who  need 
take  much  trouble  in  writing  against  a  system, 
while  its  defenders  so  effectually  beat  it  down  % 
5.  Eeference  is  made  to  the  analogy  subsisting 
between  the  Lord's  Supper  and  the  passover. 
Here  it  is  adduced  that,  as  circumcision  was  by 
Divine  command  an  indispensable  qualification 
in  every  male  for  a  participation  of  the  Jewish 
passover  —  so,  reasoning  analogically,  Mr.  Booth 
says,  "  Baptism  is  equally  necessary  to  commun- 
ion at  the  Lord's  table."  Mr.  Booth  may  twist 
this  matter  how  he  pleases,  and  his  friends  too, 
but  his  position  is  as  powerful  an  argument  in 
favor  of  infant  baptism  as  pedobaptists  can  de- 
sire. As  baptism  did  not  come  in  the  place  of 
circumcision,  neither  is  there  any  law  in  the 
New  Testament  to  make  it  requisite  for  baptism 
to  be  essential  to  eating  the  Lord's  Supper — 


244:  ECCLESIASTICAL   OBSERVANCES. 

though  there  was  a  law  fully  laid  down,  prohib- 
iting any  but  the  circumcised  from  eating  the 
paschal  supper.  Here  is  another  subterfuge, 
and  it  does  not  want  much  depth  of  discernment 
to  see  that  this  can  be  no  authority  for  restricted 
communion ;  it  flies  like  chaff  before  the  wind, 
as  each  of  the  others  have  done.  We  now  come 
to  what  may  be  considered  the  last  prop. 

6.  We  are  told  that  the  universal  church  is 
agreed  that  "  baptism  has  been  held  in  all  ages 
and  by  all  denominations  to  be  a  Divinely-pre- 
scribed preliminary  to  the  Lord's  Supper"  (How- 
ell, "Terms  of  Com.,"  p.  51).  They  are  upon 
the  old  hack  at  last — "Hear  the  churchP  The 
appeal  here  is  to  all  denominations  of  pedobap- 
tists  in  the  world.  If  the  church  be  authority 
in  one  thing,  it  must  be  in  another,  especially 
where  there  is  uniformity  of  testimony  :  conse- 
quently, the  church,  apart  from  the  baptists, 
witness  that  infant  baptism  is  scriptural ;  and, 
upon  this  mode  of  reasoning,  away  goes  baptist 
restricted  communion  and  the  doctrine  of  be- 
lievers' baptism  altogether ;  so  that  the  last  prop 
is  gone,  and  the  close  communion  of  baptists, 
in  both  scripture  and  reason,  "  like  the  baseless 
fabric  of  a  vision,  leaves  not  a  wreck  behind !" 


PART   VI. 


BAPTIST  DENOMINATION, 


SECTION   I. THE  BAPTISMAL  CONTROVERSY  IN  THE 

FIRST  FIFTEEN  CENTURIES  OF  THE  CHRISTIAN  ERA. 

We  think  we  have  shown  to  every  candid 
inquirer  after  truth,  that  no  foundation  can  be 
established  for  restricted  communion  by  any 
command  in  the  word  of  God,  or  by  any  depen- 
dence which  may  possibly  be  founded  on  the 
idea  of  one  positive  institute  being  made  to  gov- 
ern another,  without  a  direct  command  for  such 
dependent  connection.  We  have  shown,  too, 
that  restricted  communion  has  not  any  justifia- 
ble pretext  for  defence  in  scripture  precedent, 
nor  have  its  advocates  any  authority  for  com- 
pelling any  who  may  violate  one  enactment  of 
the  Saviour's  to  violate  others.     In  civil,  moral, 


246  ECCLESIASTICAL   OBSERVANCES. 

or  religious  law,  such  monstrosity  was  never 
thought  of.  What!  because  an  individual  vio- 
lates one  law,  he  must  be  thrust  onward  against 
his  will  in  the  violation  of  another!  We  have 
also  shown  that  the  immediate  successors  of  the 
apostles,  and  those  who  followed  them,  never 
set  up  any  pretence  for  restricted  communion 
when  first  there  were  innovations  made  upon 
the  ordinance  of  baptism  ;  they  were  unques- 
tionably involved  in  similar  disputes  to  those 
which  the  controversy  now  assumes,  restricted 
communion  excepted. 

We  may  say  that  in  the  foregoing  parts  of 
this  work  it  has  been  clearly  demonstrated  that 
restricted  communionism  is  untenable  if  viewed 
in  relation  to  the  Spirit  of  Jesus  Christ,  the  in- 
stitution of  baptism,  the  design  of  the  two  ordi- 
nances, the  commands  of  Christ,  and  the  prac- 
tices of  the  apostles  and  disciples  of  the  Lord 
Jesus.  We  conceive  that  we  have  not  left  it 
any  ground  to  stand  upon,  but  in  the  dogma  of 
partisan  discipleship. 

Seeing,  then,  that  this  rule  in  the  baptist  de- 
nomination, held  with  such  tenacity  and  confi- 
dence, has  evidently  no  scriptural  authority  for 
its  introduction,  by  Christ  or  his  first  disciples, 


BAPTIST   DENOMINATION.  247 

we  are  compelled  to  tarn  our  attention  from  in- 
spired to  uninspired  ecclesiastical  history.  We 
look  at  the  records  of  the  church  in  the  first 
two  or  three  centuries  of  the  Christian  dispen- 
sation :  there  we  find  no  division  with  the  mem- 
bers of  the  body  of  Christ  when  observing  tlje 
Lord's  Supper,  on  the  ground  of  baptism,  nor 
any  distinct  society  setting  up  a  right  to  exclude 
others  from  the  table  because  the  apostolic  mode 
of  baptism  was  not  adhered  to. 

Some  may  suppose  that  there  was  no  depart- 
ure in  these  early  times  from  what  is  recorded 
in  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles,  bearing  upon  bap- 
tism ;  but  we  have  clearly  shown,  from  ecclesi- 
astical records,  that  there  was.  Not  a  few  ques- 
tions were  agitated,  but  not  a  syllable  do  we 
find  advanced  about  any  dissension  upon  com- 
munion at  the  Lord's  table. 

In  passing  on  from  the  first  two  or  three  cen- 
turies of  the  Christian  dispensation,  we  discover 
the  innovations  upon  the  mode  of  professedly 
administering  the  ordinance  of  baptism  had  be- 
come general,  and  pouring  and  sprinkling  were 
by  no  means  uncommon.  But  not  to  pause  at 
these  examples,  where  the  separation  would 
doubtless  have  taken  place  had  there  been  scrip- 


248 


ECCLESIASTICAL    OBSERVANCES. 


tural  grounds  for  it,  we  find  that  when  the  inno- 
vation had  acquired  an  extensive  practice,  and 
the  agitation  still  remained  unabated,  while  the 
universal  adoption  of  man's  invention  was  urged 


with  considerable 


qgor, 


in  relation  to  both  the 


"mode  of  administration  and  the  subjects  for  the 
ordinance  —  even  at  this  juncture,  there  was 
nothing  mooted  about  division  of  the  church  at 
the  Lord's  table. 

None  were  adventurous  enough  to  declare 
themselves  justified  in  separating  and  setting 
themselves  up  to  claim  exclusive  authority  over 
the  table  of  the  Lord,  or  to  shut  out  any  be- 
liever who  was  a  member  of  a  visible  church, 
upon  the  ground  of  the  controversy.  We  see, 
then,  that  through  the  fourth  century,  innova- 
tions upon  the  ordinance  of  baptism  were  made, 
multiplied,  and  perpetuated,  without  at  all  dis- 
turbing the  fellowship  of  the  church,  in  break- 
ing bread  to  commemorate  the  Lord's  death  till 
he  come. 

In  the  fifth  century,  the  question  of  baptism 
was  brought  before  different  councils,  whose 
decisions  were  given  in  favor  of  infant  baptism. 
The  opposite  opinions  were  therefore  anathema- 
tized, and  those  who  held  them  incurred  the 


BAPTIST   DENOMINATION.  249 

penalties  attached  to  heresy.  The  baptismal 
controversy  is  alluded  to  in  the  writings  of  sev- 
eral of  the  fathers,  some  of  whom  did  not  scru- 
ple, in  spite  of  edicts  and  decrees,  to  condemn 
the  practice  of  baptizing  infants,  as  a  deviation 
from  scripture,  and  the  early  custom  of  the 
church. 

The  same  view  of  the  subject  was  very  prev- 
alent in  the  eastern  provinces  of  the  Roman  em- 
pire. Disaffection,  because  of  baptismal  and 
other  innovations,  became  so  popular,  that  in 
the  ninth  century  that  powerful  schism  arose 
which  led  to  the  formation  of  the  Greek  church. 
This  was  one  of  the  articles  in  which  an  irre- 
concilable difference  of  opinion  prevailed  be- 
tween the  new  communion  and  the  old  —  the  lat- 
ter adhering  to  its  established  custom  of  sprin- 
kling infants,  while  the  former  baptized  them 
by  three  immersions. 

The  schism  which  had  occasioned  such  a  de- 
fection from  the  church  of  Rome,  did  not  re- 
move the  cause  of  controversy  concerning  bap- 
tism, but,  on  the  contrary,  increased  it  by  the 
intolerant  proceedings  which  were  taken  against 
those  who  refused  to  be  silenced.  Driven  from 
the  bosom  of  their  own  communion,  they  took 
11* 


250  ECCLESIASTICAL    OBSERVANCES. 

refuge  in  the  churches  of  the  Waldenses,  in  the 
valleys  of  Piedmont ;  and  at  a  later  period  they 
joined  the  disaffected  sects  in  Germany  and 
Flanders,  among  whom  they  sowed  the  seeds 
of  their  own  doctrines. 

The  zeal  with  which  they  labored  to  spread 
the  opinions  wherein  they  differed  from  the 
church  of  Rome,  only  made  them  a  more  con- 
spicuous mark  for  persecution.  Imprisonment, 
exile,  or  death,  was  the  fate  of  those  who  per- 
sisted in  their  adherence  to  this  so-called  heresy. 
All  the  terrors  of  the  church  were  invoked  to 
extinguish  the  offensive  tenet;  but  so  rapid  was 
its  growth  under  persecution,  that  the  number 
of  those  who  professed  it  in  the  beginning  of 
the  twelfth  century  is  said  by  Mosheim  to  have 
amounted  to  eight  hundred  thousand. 

From  this  time  to  the  commencement  of  the 
Reformation,  Germany  was  the  chief  seat  of  the 
baptist  reformers,  whence,  following  the  course 
of  the  Rhine,  they  spread  over  Holland.  Being 
thus  scattered  over  that  part  of  the  continent  of 
Europe  in  which  the  doctrines  of  the  Reforma- 
tion were  agitated,  they  availed  themselves  of 
the  opportunity  of  gaining  attention  to  their 
own  views. 


BAPTIST   DENOMINATION.  251 

From  this  great  epoch  in  the  history  of  reli- 
gious opinions  may  be  dated  a  new  era  in  the 
history  of  baptism.  Up  to  this  time  the  doc- 
trine, though  so  tenaciously  maintained  through 
sufferings,  persecution,  and  death,  does  not  ap- 
pear to  have  bestowed  any  particular  designa- 
tion upon  those  who  held  it,  nor  did  they  advo- 
cate the  restricting  of  themselves  to  their  own 
party  in  the  communion  of  the  Lord's  Supper. 

SECTION    II. THE    ORIGIN    OF    THE    DENOMINATION. 

The  rise  of  a  society  is  a  consideration  of 
some  importance  in  its  onward  progress  and 
pretensions.  So  in  reference  to  the  history  of 
the  Baptist  Denomination;  and  it  may  be  a 
matter  to  be  somewhat  regretted  that  there  are 
circumstances  connected  with  the  origin  of  the 
body,  as  a  distinct  ecclesiastical  denomination, 
that  occasion  grief. 

We  can  not  turn  to  the  first  movements  of 
baptists,  in  acquiring  a  religious  distinction 
among  Christians,  without  agitating  events  of 
a  revolting  character.  They  display  a  cast  of 
moral  deformity  which  leads  us  almost  to  shud- 
der to  remove  the  covering  which  time  has  cast 


252  ECCLESIASTICAL   OBSERVANCES. 


over  it :  but  history  has  chronicled  it,  and  we 
can  not  revert  to  the  commencement  of  the  de- 
nomination and  pass  the  events  by  unnoticed. 
The  cause  of  truth  demands  us  to  say  something 
relating  to  these  facts,  as  identified  not  only 
with  the  origin  of  the  denomination,  but  of  the 
particular  features  of  restricted  communion. 

We  will  endeavor  to  use  a  sparing  hand,  and 
in  this  review  scan  the  circumstances  as  briefly 
as  we  can,  without  penetrating  to  exhibit  the 
enormities  of  the  moral  delinquents  who  first 
moved  on  the  continent  of  Europe  for  distinc- 
tion as  baptists,  and  which  marks  the  epoch  of 
the  commencement  of  the  history  of  baptists, 
and  as  a  denomination  which  led  on  to  the  idea 
of  restricted  communion. 

In  directing  attention  to  ecclesiastical  history, 
it  will  be  seen  that  in  the  agitation  created  by 
Martin  Luther,  when  he*  brought  about  the 
Reformation,  there  was  a  movement  on  the  part 
of  some,  who  embraced  and  cherished  the  bap- 
tist viewrs. 

The  leading  men  of  this  movement  were  Mun- 
zer,  Stubner,  and  Storck.  They  had  been  dis- 
ciples of  Luther,  and  began  to  preach  in  their 
new  character  as  baptists  in  the  town  of  Wit- 


BAPTIST  DENOMINATION.  253 

tenberg,  in  Saxony,  in  the  year  1521.  Their 
followers,  composed  almost  exclusively  of  the 
lowest  rabble,  in  1525  rose  in  a  general  rebel- 
lion against  the  established  authorities  through- 
out that  province,  Suabia,  Thuringia,  and  Fran- 
conia.  We  must  here  bear  in  mind  that  the  in- 
surrection was  partly  of  a  political  character, 
occasioned  by  the  oppression  to  which  the  peas- 
antry were  subj  ected.  They  were  soon  defeated, 
and  Munzer  himself  was  taken  and  put  to  death. 
In  1532,  fresh  disturbances  arose.  A  numer- 
ous mob  of  these  professed  disciples,  conducted 
by  John  Matthias,  a  baker  of  Haerlem,  and  John 
Boccoldt,  a  tailor  of  Leyden,  suddenly  attacked 
the  city  of  Miinster  during  the  night,  and  made 
themselves  masters  of  the  place.  Their  adhe- 
rents immediately  nocked  thither  from  all  quar- 
ters. Matthias  named  Miinster  "  Mount  Zion," 
and  proclaimed  himself  the  king.  Having,  with 
only  thirty  followers,  madly  undertaken  to  at- 
tack and  disperse  the  forces  which  came  to  re- 
cover the  town,  he  perished,  with  all  who  ac- 
companied him.  John  of  Leyden  then  assumed 
the  royal  dignity,  and  under  his  conduct  the 
multitude  is  said  to  have  proceeded  to  wilder 
excesses.     The  city  was,  however,  recaptured 


254  ECCLESIASTICAL    OBSERVANCES. 

by  the  army  which  the  bishop  had  brought  up 
against  it,  on  June  24, 1535  ;  and  Boccoldt,  fal- 
ling into  the  hands  of  the  victors,  was  soon  after 
executed,  with  the  most  terrific  cruelties  which 
hatred  and  revenge  could  dictate. 

Most  extravagant  tenets  and  conduct  have 
been  ascribed  to  the  baptists  of  Munster;  and, 
tl  ough  the  accounts  of  a  proscribed  sect  by 
their  enemies  only  ought  to  be  unquestionably 
substantiated,  yet  there  is  enough  in  their  his- 
tory, well  accredited,  to  fill  us  with  loathing 
disgust :  though  we  would  hope  and  cherish  the 
belief  that  there  were  some  sincere  Christians 
who  had  no  part  or  lot  with  the  wicked  multi- 
tude, but  history  classes  all  together. 

In  briefly  noticing  some  of  the  principles  with 
which  they  were  justly  charged,  may  be  named 
that  of  their  holding  the  unwarrantableness  of 
all  civil  government,  the  emancipation  of  the 
faithful  from  subjection  to  either  laws  or  taxes, 
and  that  among  the  saints  all  tilings  ought  to 
be  common.  They  maintained  that  God  made 
his  will  known  to  them  individually  by  special 
inspirations;  and  are  said  to  have  expressed 
themselves  with  some  degree  of  indifference,  al- 
most amounting  to  contempt  or  disparagement, 


BAPTIST   DENOMINATION.  255 


of  the  written  word.  Besides  the  internal  im- 
pressions, which  they  called  inspirations,  they 
had  dreams  and  visions  in  which  they  put  much 
confidence.  Some  of  them  conceived  themselves 
to  have  the  prophetic  gift,*which  they  were  spe- 
cially accustomed  to  exercise  in  predicting  the 
speedy  approach  of  the  end  of  the  world. 

The  light  in  which  baptists  have  generally 
regarded  the  feelings  of  Luther  toward  these 
desperadoes,  and  the  baptists  in  general,  be- 
cause that  great  and  godly  man  denounced  such 
baptists,  has  often  been  a  matter  of  surprise. 
The  enemies  of  Luther  among  the  papists  would 
take  occasion  to  bring  the  sins  and  rebellion  of 
this  party  upon  him,  and  attach  their  proceed- 
ings to  what  they  called  "  the  detestable  Lu- 
theran heresy."  Luther  was  but  a  man  of  like 
passions  with  ourselves ;  and,  in  review  of  all 
the  circumstances,  his  patience  and  forbearance 
toward  such  a  set  might  more  reasonably  fill  us 
with  surprise.  That  he  did  denounce  them,  and 
proclaim  their  death,  may  be  deplored  in  these 
days,  but  is  not  to  be  wondered  at  when  regard- 
ing the  practices  and  circumstances  of  the  times. 

These  men  of  the  sixteenth  century  were  the 
first  movers  toward  restricted  communion.  Bap- 


256  ECCLESIASTICAL   OBSERVANCES. 

tism  did  not  affect  the  relation  of  Christians  in 
their  communion  at  the  Lord's  table  before  this 
time.  Compulsion  and  not  choice,  we  should 
conclude,  first  brought  it  about ;  it  is  never  re- 
ferred to  as  the  result  of  enlightened  conviction 
upon  the  subject,  nor  as  a  willing,  voluntary- 
act,  under  any  honorable  impression.  No,  the 
position  was  from  necessity,  because  of  the  ill- 
odor  of  the  sect,  occasioned  by  the  sinful  and 
detestable  moral  practices  of  some. 

From  these  men  emanated  the  onward  course 
for  the  denomination  and  restricted  communion. 
Those  who  were  baptists  were  shunned,  and 
none  could  commune  with  them.  Prejudice 
ranked  the  worthy  with  the  most  vile ;  and,  as 
those  Minister  baptists  were  like  Ishmaelites 
indeed,  with  hand  against  every  man,  every 
man's  hand  was  against  them.  With  the  op- 
probrious epithet  of  anabaptists,  all  were  cast 
together,  and  all  suffered  the  same  reproach. 

By  watching  this  progress,  we  see  something 
of  the  grounds  of  restricted  communion.  On 
account  of  those  fanatics  to  whom  we  have  just 
referred,  the  baptists  on  the  continent  of  Europe 
were  destined  to  additional  persecution.  For 
a  long  time  it  was  dangerous,  particularly  in 


BAPTIST   DENOMINATION.  257 

Germany,  to  profess  an  adherence  to  the  doc- 
trine of  adult  baptism  —  all  those  who  held  that 
tenet  being  most  absurdly  classed  as  belonging 
to  the  sect  of  the  Miinster  anabaptists,  as  they 
were  called,  but  who  in  reality  had  no  connec- 
tion with  those  wicked  insurgents.  Of  these 
were  the  Me?inonites,  so  called  from  Menno  Si- 
monis.  They  always  disclaimed  any  fraternity 
with  the  baptists  of  Miinster.  They  now  form 
a  numerous  body  in  Holland,  and  are  found  in 
various  parts  of  Germany  and  Prussia.  Others 
were  called  Waterlandians^  from  the  place  of 
their  principal  church  ;  and  others  bajptists,  &c. 
In  these  brief  references  to  some  of  the  cir- 
cumstances giving  rise  to  the  history  of  the  bap- 
tist denomination  and  restricted  communion, 
we  can  not  attach  much  importance,  either  to 
the  purity  of  spirit,  or  desire  for  the  glory  of 
God,  in  the  men  who  first  moved  for  the  object ; 
and  we  can  see  pretty  clearly  that,  however  the 
baptists'  sentiment  may  commend  itself  to  us, 
and  however  strenuously  we  may  advocate  the 
duty  of  Christians  to  regard  the  ordinance  of 
baptism  as  instituted  by  Christ  and  practised 
by  the  apostles,  there  is  nothing  in  the  consid- 
eration of  assuming  authority  over  the  table  of 


258  ECCLESIASTICAL   OBSERVANCES. 

the  Lord,  but  what  may  lead  us  to  connect  it 
with  the  spirit  of  ignorant  bigotry  or  antichris- 
tian  usurpation. 

SECTION    III. BAPTIST   DENOMINATION   IN    GREAT 

BRITAIN.  , 

In  turning  from  the  consideration  of  the  move- 
ment of  the  baptists  on  the  continent  of  Europe, 
to  the  position  they  assumed  in  England,  &c, 
we  observe  that  little  is  known  of  them  there 
before  the  sixteenth  century.  Their  name  then 
appears  among  the  various  sects  who  were  strug- 
gling for  civil  and  religions  freedom,  but  suffer- 
ing from  the  augmented  disadvantage  of  being 
classed  with  the  continental  insurgents  and  fa- 
natics. 

The  general  name  by  which  the  baptists  were 
distinguished  in  England  was  the  same  as  that 
given  to  the  Miinster  rioters.  Anabaptist  was 
a  name  of  opprobrium,  and  the  people  shunned 
the  sect  as  a  moral  and  religious  pestilence. 
The  name  anabaptist  is  to  the  present  day  used 
by  some  opponents  of  the  baptists  in  denomina- 
tional disputes  and  controversial  writings,  with 
the  intention  of  treating  with  contempt  the  bap- 


BAPTIST   DENOMINATION.  259 


tists  •  though  generally  none  who  can  sustain  a 
reputation  for  honorable  Christians  would  con- 
descend to  the  use  of  the  term,  it  being  almost 
universally  admitted  to  be  a  vulgar  and  unjus- 
tifiable reflection. 

The  application  of  the  name  anabaptist  is  un- 
warranted when  applied  to  the  baptists,  and 
they  have  always  protested  against  it,  not  only 
because  it  was  given  to  those  first  scandalous 
movers  who  led  to  the  distinct  denomination  of 
baptists,  but  because  they  do  not  practise  or 
sanction  a  new  or  second  baptism-.  The  baptists 
have  from  the  earliest  period  maintained  that 
there  is  no  validity  in  what  is  designated  "  in- 
fant baptism."  Two  successive  baptisms  there- 
fore have  never  been  countenanced  nor  thought 
of  by  the  baptists.  Adult  believers  are  required 
to  be  baptized  by  the  baptists  upon  the  ground 
that,  whatsoever  was  practised  upon  them  in 
infancy,  was  no  baptism  at  all. 

The  features  of  our  belief  as  baptists  with  re- 
spect to  that  ordinance  is,  that  baj:>tism  com- 
menced with  the  Christian  dispensation,  and  was 
peculiar  to  it,  bearing  no  analogy  to  circumcis- 
ion, nor  in  any  sense  derived  from  previous 
enactments,  but  revealed  as  a  positive  law  of 


260  ECCLESIASTICAL   OBSERVANCES. 

the  kingdom  of  Christ;  that  baptism  is  only 
scriptural  as  administered  by  submerging  the 
whole  body  of  the  baptized  in  water ;  that  it 
can  not  be  scripturally  administered  to  any  but 
on  a  profession  of  faith  in  Christ  Jesus ;  that, 
as  a  command  of  the  New  Testament,  it  is  ob- 
ligatory on  all  who  profess  faith  in  Christ ;  and 
that,  holding  such  as  conscientious  views  of 
what  Christ  requires  in  the  ordinance  of  bap- 
tism, it  is  so  far  right  to  discountenance  every 
substitute,  and  deny  it  the  right  to  the  title  of 
Christian  baptism  at  all.  Such  views  are  proof 
that  there  could  be  no  just  cause  for  designating 
these  "  anabaptists." 

It  would  have  been  in  the  present  day  unne- 
cessary at  all  to  have  referred  to  any  elucida- 
tion of  this  circumstance,  but  that  it  seems  re 
quisite  to  show  that,  with  the  whole  body  ot 
baptists  in  England,  as  well  as  on  the  continent 
of  Europe,  in  the  distinctive  feature  of  their 
springing  into  a  denominational  sect,  restricted 
communion  was  entirely  accidental,  and  not  re- 
garded by  them  at  the  time  as  essential  to  the 
duties  they  owed  to  Christ  and  his  institutions. 

In  the  sixteen tli  century,  the  opinions  of  the 
baptists  were  sufficiently  popular  in  England  to 


BAPTIST    DENOMINATION.  261 

attract  the  notice  of  the  national  establishment, 
as  is  evident  from  the  fact  that,  at  a  convocation 
held  in  1536,  they  were  denounced  as  u  detesta- 
ble heresies,  utterly  to  be  condemned."  Proc- 
lamations followed,  to  banish  the  baptists  from 
the  kingdom ;  their  books  were  burnt,  and  sev- 
eral individuals  suffered  at  the  stake.  The  last 
person  who  was  burnt  in  England  for  his  reli- 
gious opinions  was  a  baptist,  of  the  name  of 
Edward  Wightman  ;  he  was  not,  however,  burnt 
as  a  baptist,  but  upon  the  charge  of  blasphemy 
and  heresy. 

The  first  baptist  congregation  in  England  that 
we  know  of,  is  reported  to  have  been  formed  by 
Mr.  Smyth,  a  clergyman  of  the  church  of  Eng- 
land, who,  having  embraced  the  baptist  view, 
resigned  his  living,  and  opened  a  place  for  pub- 
lic worship  on  the  principles  of  the  baptists,  in 
London,  in  1607.  This  step  encouraged  others  to 
follow  his  example,  who  had  hitherto  concealed 
or  privately  professed  their  opinions.  The  bap- 
tists, who  were  mingled  with  the  independents, 
separated  from  them  about  the  year  1638,  and 
set  up  for  themselves.  They  sent  over  one  of 
their  number  to  be  immersed  by  one  of  the 
Dutch  baptists  of  Amsterdam,  that  he  might  be 


262  ECCLESIASTICAL   OBSERVANCES. 

qualified  to  baptize  his  friends  in  England  after 
the  same  manner. 

The  forms  of  worship  in  the  general  adopted 
by  these  congregations  that  sprang  np  in  vari- 
ious  parts  of  England  and  Wales,  did  not  mate- 
rially vary  from  the  practice  of  the  puritans. 
The  reformed  churches  on  the  continent  of  Eu- 
rope furnished  a  model  for  all  the  sects  in  Eng- 
land which  then  contended  for  the  rights  of 
nonconformity,  and  are  generally  spoken  of  un- 
der the  name  of  the  "Three  Denominations  of 
Protestant  Dissenters."  Among  these  the  bap- 
tists were  not  the  least  distinguished  for  the 
consistency  of  their  conduct  in  maintaining  the 
right  of  private  judgment,  and  in  advocating 
the  principles  of  universal  toleration  in  matters 
pertaining  to  religion.  But  their  baptist  views 
(though  at  this  time  many  of  them  did  not  favor 
restricted  communion)  were  a  barrier  to  their 
close  affinity  to  the  other  denominations. 

The  baptists,  with  other  nonconformists,  had 
to  struggle  on  through  a  series  of  oppressive 
evils ;  persecution,  banishment,  imprisonment, 
and  death,  were  visited  upon  many  for  their  re- 
ligious views.  Soon  after  the  Reformation,  for 
about  one  and  a  half  centuries,  except  during 


BAPTIST   DENOMINATION.  263 

the  brief  space  of  the  commonwealth,  they  con- 
tinued to  be  persecuted  by  a  succession  of  re- 
strictive and  penal  laws  of  almost  constantly- 
increasing  severity.  From  the  suspension  of 
these  cruel  assaults  upon  dissenting  denomina- 
tions, it  has  taken  more  than  another  century  to 
raise  them  from  being  merely  tolerated  bodies 
to  a  free  participation  in  the  rights  of  their  fel- 
low-subjects, in  which  no  steps  were  taken  till 
toward  the  close  of  that  period. 

Here  it  will  be  seen  that  the  various  sects  of 
religionists  had  no  space  for  civil,  religious,  or 
mental  growth.  They  were  driven  into  corners ; 
and  when  we  reflect  upon  the  particular  views 
of  the  baptists  —  that  they  were  shut  out  from 
the  sympathies  even  of  some  other  proscribed 
denominational  sects — it  could  not  be  other- 
wise than  that  they  should  fraternize  upon  the 
basis  of  their  own  particular  sentiments,  so  that 
nearly  the  whole  of  the  baptist  societies  in  Eng- 
land became  restricted  communionists :  though 
there  were  always  some  who  would  not  imbibe 
this  principle,  and  among  these  stood  the  far- 
famed  Roger  Williams,  whose  principles,  ex- 
pounded by  both  his  life  and  writings  in  Eng- 
land and  America,  claimed  for  all  men  perfect 


264:  ECCLESIASTICAL   OBSERVANCES. 

liberty  of  sentiment  and  conscience  in  reference 
to  religious  views.  His  political  principles  were 
ever  of  that  liberal  cast  which  but  few  in  those 
days  could  appreciate,  so  that  he  suffered  for 
them  in  his  fatherland,  and,  what  is  yet  more 
astounding,  in  the  land  where  he  sought  a  home, 
and  from  the  very  people  too,  who,  alike  with 
himself,  had  sought,  in  a  far-distant  continent, 
an  asylum  where  conscience  might  be  free ! 
He  could  not  mix  with  baptists,  though  himself 
a  baptist,  in  either  England  or  America,  because 
in  the  matter  of  communion  they  bound  the 
consciences  of  those  who  would  know  no  mas- 
ter but  Christ,  and  be  his  freemen.  In  Scotland 
and  Ireland,  the  baptists  never  have  been  so  nu- 
merous as  in  England  and  Wales. 

We  have  been  as  brief  as  the  circumstances 
would  possibly  admit,  in  this  review  of  the  bap- 
tist denomination,  in  its  distinctive  form,  and  in 
its  relation  to  restrictive  communion.  Nearly 
a  millenary  and  a  half  of  years  passed  over  in 
the  history  of  the  Christian  dispensation,  and 
nothing  was  heard  of  the  denominational  dis- 
tinction of  baptists,  nor  of  refusal  to  meet  other 
Christians  at  the  table  of  the  Lord,  upon  the 
grounds  of  their  difference  of  opinion  in  the 


BAPTIST   DENOMINATION.  265 


baptismal  controversies,  though  the  disputes 
commenced  early  in  the  history  of  the  Christian 
church,  and  have  continued  onward  to  the  pres- 
ent time. 

In  the  sixteenth  century,  the  agitation  for 
reformation  on  the  continent  of  Europe,  by  some 
mysterious  (that  is,  to  us  mysterious)  coinci- 
dents, gave  birth  to  this  distinctive  feature  in 
the  religious  world,  of  the  baptist  denomination. 
We  can  not,  as  we  have  seen,  look  back  upon 
the  first  movers  with  any  feelings  of  compla- 
cency, though  that  fact  does  not  militate  against 
baptists  being  a  distinct  body,  giving  force  to 
their  conscientious  impressions,  and  maintain- 
ing strict  adherence  to  the  form  of  administering 
one  of  those  positive  institutions  of  the  Christian 
dispensation  which  Christ  has  left  to  be  observed 
and  practised. 

We  have  seen  that,  with  this  movement,  fol- 
lowed restrictive  communion.  There  being  dis- 
tinct baptist  churches*  for  fellowship  and  wor- 
ship, they  were  not  any  longer  dependent  upon 
any  other  society  of  Christians  for  the  services 
of  public  worship.  They  adopted  exclusion,  and 
became  isolated  as  churches  from  all  other  Chris- 
tians ;  though  we  can  not  say  this  was  by  choice 
12 


266  ECCLESIASTICAL   OBSERVANCES. 

in  such  societies  as  the  Minister  baptists,  for 
what  sincere  Christians  would  have  had  fellow- 
ship with  such  disgraceful  societies?  If  they 
boasted  of  restricted  communion,  it  must  have 
been  upon  the  principle  of  making  a  virtue  of 
necessity.  But  as  no  such  extravagant  follies 
and  sins  are  chargeable  upon  the  baptists  of 
Great  Britain,  we  may  suppose  that  for  denom- 
inational purposes,  and  as  we  learn  also  by  the 
suggestion  of  the  independents,  they  did,  about 
the  year  1638,  become  distinct  baptist  churches, 
embracing  mostly  the  principles  of  close  com- 
munion. 

SECTION  IV. CIRCUMSTANCES  WHICH  OPERATED  TO 

MAKE  CLOSE  COMMUNION  A  CHERISHED  PRINCIPLE. 

The  baptists  discontinuing  to  be  mixed  with 
other  Christian  bodies,  and  communing  no  long- 
er at  the  table  of  the  Lord  with  other  devoted 
Christians,  were  moulded  into  a  habit  of  exclu- 
siveness. 

We  have  seen  from  the  first  that  close  com- 
munion did  not  arise  from  the  conviction  that 
mixed  communion  with  other  devoted  followers 
of  Christ  would  be  in  opposition  to  the  will  of 


BAPTIST   DENOMINATION.  267 

Christ,  or  that  there  was  anything  in  the  spirit 
of  the  New  Testament  or  in  the  conduct  of  the 
first  disciples  of  Christ  to  warrant  it.  The  cir- 
cumstances of  the  times,  together  with  the  con- 
viction that  they  were  right  in  their  views  of 
the  Christian  ordinance  of  baptism,  consum- 
mated this  plan  undoubtedly. 

The  first  hundred  and  fifty  years  which  passed 
over  their  history  was  attended  with  such  a  suc- 
cession of  trials  and  sufferings,  in  common  with 
other  nonconformists,  that  they  had  enough  to 
do  to  L'ok  for  their  escape  from  calamities  which 
beset  them  on  every  hand.  They  were,  of  course, 
as  one  of  the  consequences  of  persecution,  more 
cemented  together  in  the  fraternal  bonds  of 
Christian  fellowship,  and  their  restrictive-com- 
munion principles  became  part  and  parcel  of 
their  religious  belief. 

As  they  might  be  said  to  suffer  the  loss  of  all 
things  for  Christ's  sake,  so  they  were  mostly 
poor  and  kept  low.  As  to  civil  liberty,  they 
had  none.  It  was  enough,  in  the  estimation  of 
their  persecutors,  that  they  should  live  only  by 
sufferance ;  and  thus  they,  with  other  noncon- 
formists, had  an  affinity  to  the  apostle,  when 
he  thus  describes  the  state  of  himself  and  his 


268  ECCLESIASTICAL    OBSERVANCES. 

companions  in  Christ:  "For  we  which  live  are 
always  delivered  unto  death  for  Jesus'  sake." 
And  again  :  "  For  thy  sake  we  are  killed  all  the 
day  long ;  we  are  accounted  as  sheep  for  the 
slaughter."  And  again,  speaking  of  his  loss, 
and  love  of  Christ,  he  says,  "  For  whom  I  have 
suffered  the  loss  of  all  things."  As  one  of  the 
important  means  of  worldly  influence  is  wealth, 
they  being  poor,  their  voice,  of  course,  was  not 
heard.  All  their  consolation  sprang  from  an 
approving  conscience  within.  The  peace  and 
smiles  of  their  Lord  resting  upon  them,  would 
be  calculated  to  lead  them  to  suppose  that  ev- 
erything they  observed  distinguished  them  as 
followers  of  Jesus,  and  that  all  their  prejudices 
in  favor  of  their  own  practices  indicated  that 
they  were  such  as  God  approved. 

The  baptists  were  less  educated  than  other 
religious  communities.  They  had  no  facilities 
for  mental  culture,  and  it  was  mostly  the  illit- 
erate who  joined  their  societies.  Their  defi- 
ciency in  literature,  or  their  ignorance  of  the 
simple  rudiments  of  an  education,  could  be  no 
sin  or  ground  of  reproach  ;  but  who  can  say  that 
it  was  not  a  disadvantage,  and  calculated  to  ob- 
struct the  workings  of  their  mental  powers,  as 


BAPTIST   DENOMINATION.  269 

to  botli  their  cherished  prejudices  against  liter- 
ary refinement  and  religious  liberal  sentiments? 
Who  has  ever  found  otherwise,  but  that  igno- 
rance and  obstinate  bigotry  bear  an  almost  in- 
separable alliance  the  one  to  the  other?  Roger 
Williams,  as  a  man  of  education,  felt  this  among 
the  baptists  ;  and  while  his  noble  soul  expanded 
for  full  liberty,  though  a  baptist,  he  could  find 
but  little  fellowship  in  their  association. 

The  narrowing  down  of  creeds,  and  the  draw- 
ing into  smaller  circles  the  line  of  charity,  fra- 
ternity, and  liberality,  is  the  certain  result  of 
stunted  mental  growth.  They  are  the  unalter- 
able evils,  under  such  circumstances,  that  have 
to  be  borne  with,  and  it  becomes  us  to  commis- 
erate the  individuals  who  are  the  subjects  of 
them,  rather  than  despise  and  treat  them  with 
contempt — believing  that  we  should  have  dis- 
played precisely  the  same  objectionable  traits 
of  character,  had  not  more  fortuitous  circum- 
stances fallen  to  our  lot  than  it  was  their  privi- 
lege to  enjoy. 

See  the  application  of  these  remarks  to  tho 
views  of  restricted  communion  among  baptists, 
in  the  notable  period  of  the  sixteenth  century. 
Regard  the  circumstances  of  the  times  wThen 


270  ECCLESIASTICAL    OBSERVANCES. 

baptists  first  presented  themselves  as  a  distinct 
body  of  religious  worshippers  in  Christendom, 
and  that  which  followed  to  force  them  as  it  were 
to  cherish  exclusive  communion,  and  we  shall 
find  the  solution  of  all  that  may- be  necessary  to 
illustrate  how  close  communion  could  be  estab- 
lished, and  grasped,  and  retained  even  long  after 
the  circumstances  which  favored  the  fostering 
of  it  had  passed  away.  The  tolerant  spirit  of 
open  communion,  advocated  as  it  has  been  by 
those  eloquent  defenders  of  liberty,  Robert  Rob- 
inson and  Robert  Hall,  soon  cleared  the  mist 
of  superstitious  bigotry  from  the  minds  of  the 
most  learned  of  the  English  baptists,  and  has 
been  progressing  in  that  happy  direction  through 
the  whole  denomination. 

The  mind  does  not  become  momentarily  con- 
tracted ;  it  is  not  so  sensitive  as  to  fall  instanta- 
neously under  the  blighting  effects  of  ignorance 
and  superstition,  nor  does  it  in  a  moment  ex- 
pand in  all  the  richness  of  fertile  exuberance  as 
soon  as  favorable  circumstances  arise  to  foster 
and  cherish  expansion.  Modern  ecclesiastical 
history,  therefore,  unfolds  to  us  that  long-cher- 
ished habits  and  religious  prejudices  demand  a 
work  of  time  for  correction  and  improvement. 


BAPTIST   DENOMINATION.  271 

The  favorable  circumstances  for  advancement 
and  acquiring  knowledge,  in  this  age,  we  trust 
will  operate  effectually  in  entirely  eradicating 
from  the  baptist  denomination  their  narrow  no- 
tions of  communion,  which  have  no  foundation 
in  the  word  of  God,  and  which  are  so  antago- 
nistical  to  Christian  charity. 

SECT.  V. THE  BAPTIST   DENOMINATION   NOT   WITH- 
OUT  SOME   MEN   OF   PROFOUND   KNOWLEDGE. 

It  may  be  suggested  by  some  that,  in  the 
foregoing  section,  an  apparent  injustice  has 
been  done  in  referring  to  the  earlier  days  of  the 
denomination,  implying  that  they  were  without 
men  of  literary  attainments,  and  in  not  saying 
that  during  that  long  period  there  were  in  the 
baptist  denomination  some  men  of  profound  ac- 
quirements, who  might  have  done  honor  to  any 
sect  of  Christians. 

It  is  certainly  true  that  there  were  some  en- 
lightened and  literary  characters;  but  when  we 
speak  of  a  class  of  people,  or  of  a  community, 
we  speak  of  them  as  appearing  in  the  mass,  al- 
ways allowing  that  there  may  be  exceptions; 
and  we  are  glad  to  have  them  to  speak  of  in  tho 


272  ECCLESIASTICAL   OBSERVANCES. 

baptist  denomination,  though  they  were  but 
few  indeed,  so  that  a  child  might  write  them. 
There  were,  notwithstanding,  doubtless  many 
names,  lost  to  successive  generations,  of  worthy 
and  enlightened  baptists,  of  whom  it  might  be 
said  "the  world  was  not  worthy."  But  the  cir- 
cumstances of  their  times  forbade  their  coming 
forth.  If,  as  was  the  case  with  Roger  Williams, 
they  had  declared  their  liberal  feelings,  £here 
were  none  to  respond  among  other  denomina- 
tions, because  their  views  on  baptism  condemned 
them,  so  that  they  were  destined  to  fall  back 
into  their  little  party  circle,  and  suffer  on  till 
their  noble  and  emancipated  spirits  expanded 
in  the  pure  and  liberal  assembly  of  heaven. 

In  later  days,  we  do  not  lose  sight  of  such 
men  as  Dr.  John  Gill  and  Abraham  Booth,  as 
erudite  and  godly,  who  were  strong  advocates 
of  restricted  communion,  and  venturing,  too,  to 
base  it  upon  "thus  saith  the  Lord."  But  their 
strong  love  of  party  led  them  to  display  their 
weakness.  We  must  ever  look  upon  all  men  — 
the  best  of  men,  the  profoundest  reasoners,  and 
the  soundest  theologians  —  as  coming  in  some 
respects  under  the  influence  of  natural  disposi- 
tion.    Their  weak  point  will  show  itself  some- 


BAPTIST    DENOMINATION.  273 

where,  and,  did  we  not  carefully  bear  this  in 
mind,  the  religions  world  would  be  more  para- 
doxical to  us  than  it  is  already,  and  surely  that 
need  not  be !  John  Gill,  the  champion  of  doc- 
trinal truth  and  restricted  communion,  was  nat- 
urally of  a  dogmatical  construction  of  mind.  It 
suited  his  natural  temperament  to  be  rigid  and 
exclusive ;  a  great  and  godly  man,  but  not  less 
a  lover  of  party,  and  the  leader  of  a  sect;  con- 
science, however,  would  not  let  him  be  this,  did 
he  not  consider  the  position  to  be  according  to 
the  will  of  God.  But  the  mind,  from  natural 
constitution,  might  be  wooed  to  this  conclusion, 
and  by  a  plausible  process  of  reasoning,  where 
the  premises  were  false,  though  so  good  and 
great  a  man,  he  erred.  No  one  can  read  what 
he  has  written  without  discovering  the  positive 
way  in  which  he  advances  his  sentiments;  and 
there  is  not  a  child  acquainted  with  the  Scrip- 
tures but  what  would  be  able  to  combat  his 
views  upon  the  church,  baptism,  Lord's  Supper, 
&c.  He  makes  strong  assertions,  but  adduces 
no  proof  in  support.  He  often  sets  down  his 
views  as  though  he  were  stating  what  Christ 
had  commanded,  when  he  has  no  foundation 
whatever  in  the  Scriptures. 


274  ECCLESIASTICAL    OBSERVANCES. 

So  with  Abraham  Booth.  He  is  viewed  by 
the  advocates  of  restricted  communion  as  the 
unanswerable  defender  of  their  faith  and  prac- 
tice. All  who  have  since  him  written  upon  the 
subject  have  taken  his  ideas,  and,  when  they 
have  departed,  it  has  been  most  evidently  to 
expose  the  weakness  of  their  position.  But 
what  candid  individual,  who  reflects  when  read- 
ing Abraham  Booth's  "Apology  for  the  Bap- 
tists," does  not  discover  the  fabric  of  the  mind 
that  could  dictate  such  a  production  ?  His  as- 
sertions of  the  undeniable  truth  of  his  positions 
are  strong  just  in  proportion  as  the}r  are  defence- 
less, and  he  starts  upon  premises  utterly  devoid 
of  foundation  in  truth.  He,  too,  puts  himself 
forward,  as  is  justly  observed  by  Robert  Hall, 
as  the  champion  in  the  cause  of  the  baptists,  as 
if  there  were  unanimity  of  sentiment  upon  the 
one  point  he  proposes  to  sustain  and  defend: 
he  calls  it  an  "Apology  for  the  Baptists,"  and 
yet  the  whole  production  is  against  baptists  who 
differ  in  their  views  from  him.  Is  not  such  a 
display  of  the  mind  of  Abraham  Booth  enough 
to  show  how  inadequate  he  was  to  such  a  task, 
when  we  consider  the  bias  his  mind  could  take 
of  the  circumstances  of  the  baptists,  in  the  title 


BAPTIST    DENOMINATION.  275 

of  his  book  ?  The  venerable  Booth  was  a  godly 
man  —  a  star  of  no  small  magnitude,  shining 
with  the  grace  of  his  Lord  in  his  day  on  earth 
— but  his  "Apology  for  the  Baptists"  is  the 
weakness  of  the  man. 

Having  noticed  the  above  men  on  the  side  of 
restricted  communion,  we  must  not  forget  on 
the  other  side  one  or  two  liberal  souls  as  great 
and  good  as  have  already  been  referred  to. 
Who  can  treat  with  indifference  the  production 
of  the  famous  John  Bunyan —  as  much  a  bap- 
tist as  a  Gill  or  a  Booth,  but  breathing  the  spirit 
of  his  Lord  and  Master  in  favor  of  open  com- 
munion ?  We  must  do  his  memory  honor  in 
this  noble  liberality  of  his  soul,  as  much  as  for 
the  singular  and  inimitable  production  of  his 
"  Pilgrim's  Progress,"  known  and  regarded  the 
wide  civilized  world  through.  Roger  Williams, 
to  whom  we  have  before  referred,  renowned  in 
the  history  of  liberty,  civil  and  religious,  in  both 
England  and  America,  where  he  took  a  noble 
part  in  struggles  worthy  of  his  bold  and  liberal 
soul.  Then  the  celebrated  Robert  Hall,  with 
giant  mind,  profound  acquirements,  and  unri- 
valled oratory,  laid  hold  of  the  horns  of  restrict- 
ed communion,  and  shook  the  monster  to  a  com- 


276  ECCLESIASTICAL    OBSERVANCES. 

plete  shadow !  Next  among  many  others  that 
we  think  of  is  the  great  Alexander  Carson,  the 
man  that  was  admitted  by  all  master-minds  to 
be  in  advance  of  his  age  :  he  saw  so  far  into  the 
truthfulness  of  unrestricted  communion  as  to 
declare  it  a  self-evident  principle,  and  saw  about 
as  much  authority  in  the  Scriptures  for  restrict- 
ed communion  among  the  baptist  denomination 
as  the  papists  did  for  the  doctrine  of  transub- 
stantiation;  and  it  may  be  judged  (for  it  is  in 
print),  from  the  way  in  which  he  handled  that 
fallacy,  that  he  would  have  strangled  restricted 
communion  (had  he  come  out  upon  it  fully)  as 
he  would  a  lizard  from  a  bog  upon  which  he 
might  set  his  foot.  Had  his  life  been  spared, 
he  purposed  giving  to  the  world  his  views  of 
that  system,  which  he  utterly  denounced,  as 
without  authority  in  the  word  of  God.  But 
there  are  those  who  possess  his  views  upon  the 
subject,  given  from  his  own  lips:  they  tell  us 
that  possibly  they  shall  some  day  give  them 
forth  in  a  printed  form  —  and  this  is  no  more 
than  the  religious  community  will  expect  from 
them.  Their  testimony  is,  that  had  the  doctor 
written  his  own  sentiments,  the  baptist  denomi- 
nation must  have  stood  amazed  at  the  absurdity 


BAPTIST   DENOMINATION.  277 

of  the  position  they  had  all  along  been  striving 
to  defend. 

We  have  now  noticed  the  circumstances  of 
the  times  connected  with  the  history  of  the 
"  Baptist  Denomination"  in  Europe,  and  a  few 
of  the  men  who  have  taken  sides  in  its  internal 
dissensions.  We  must  now  pass  on  to  other 
phases  of  its  appearance. 

SECTION    VI. AMERICAN   BAPTISTS. 

It  is  but  a  running  glance  of  necessity  that 
we  have  taken  of  the  rise  and  progress  of  Euro- 
pean baptists,  and  the  particular  feature  of  the 
tenet  of  close  communion,  catching  more  defi- 
nitely a  few  prominent  objects  which  fell  in  our 
way.  It  will  be  for  those  interested  in  the  sub- 
ject, seeking  more  information,  to  peruse  eccle- 
siastical history.  We  have  now  to  look  at  the 
aspect  of  the  baptist  denomination  on  the  con- 
tinent of  America,  but  more  especially  of  the 
United  States. 

The  New  World,  having  been  comparatively 
but  lately  discovered,  has  necessarily  been  main- 
ly peopled  by  emigrants  and  their  posterity  from 
the  civilized  world,  within  the  period  of  the 


278  ECCLESIASTICAL    OBSERVANCES. 

Reformatian.  That  which  transpired  in  the  Old 
World,  with  all  the  factions,  political  and  reli- 
gious, they  participated  in  till  they  could  endure 
them  no  longer.  The  principal  settlers  in  the 
states  having  been  thus  embroiled  in  the  com- 
motions of  European  troubles,  the  feelings  they 

cherished  there  were  constitutionally  the  same 

• 

in  their  transplanted  condition.  The  new  coun- 
try which  they  inhabited  afforded  opportunity 
for  expansion  of  feeling  and  mind,  because  not 
so  obstructed  on  every  hand  by  laws  and  senti- 
ments inimical  to  those  which  they  had  em- 
braced under  altogether  unfavorable  auspices. 
The  baptists,  who  were  persecuted  and  fled  from 
their  fatherland  to  America,  had  been  mostly 
fostered  under  the  restrictive  principle  of  close 
communion,  the  features  of  which  we  have  seen, 
and  the  results  of  which  are  manifest  to  the 
present  day. 

Whatever  condemnatory  feelings  may  have 
been  cherished  in  relation  to  laws  and  govern- 
ment in  their  native  homes,  the  feelings  to  their 
religious  associations  were  of  a  different  charac- 
ter. They  may  have  looked  upon  civil  and  po- 
litical institutions  which  had  brought  upon  them 
losses,  sorrow,  and  separation  from  relatives  and 


BAPTIST   DENOMINATION.  279 

native  soil,  with  abhorrence  and  hatred;  but 
their  religious  predilections  were  cherished  and 
doubly  dear  to  their  hearts ;  they  suffered  main- 
ly for  them,  and  valued  them  still  more  dearly 
from  a  review  of  all  that  had  been  experienced. 
We,  therefore,  might  expect  that  the  baptists, 
in  their  particular  views  and  restrictive  tenet, 
would  be  more  rigid  than  even  their  brethren 
who  never  had  such  associations  as  expatriation 
was  calculated  to  foster :  and  so  it  is. 

The  baptists  who  forsook  the  continent  of  Eu- 
rope, and  Great  Britain  and  Ireland,  were  most- 
ly poor,  from  what  they  had  suffered  at  home. 
They  were  also  illiterate  in  the  general,  and 
with  but  few  exceptions  they  had  their  preju- 
dices doubly  bound  around  them,  as  principles 
which  they  believed  to  be  truth  .and  godliness. 

As  the  result,  of  mental  reflection,  however, 
they,  as  well  as  the  European  baptists,  soon  be- 
gan to  turn  from  the  considerations  which  had 
driven  them  to  the  practice  of  restricted  com- 
munion, to  the  more  legitimate  grounds  upon 
which  all  practice  should  be  regulated.  Their 
notions  were  that  their  practice  was  right,  scrip- 
tural, and  approved  by  God  ;  but  a  stronger  de- 
fence for  such  a  line  of  conduct  became  neces- 


280  ECCLESIASTICAL   OBSERVANCES. 

sary,  and  nothing  could  be  more  desirable  than 
an  established  belief,  that  the  practice  adopted 
was  and  had  been  the  practice  of  those  who  had 
observed  the  primitive  order  and  institutions  of 
the  gospel  from  the  days  of  Christ  down  to  the 
present  time.  Nothing  could  be  easier  than 
what  remained  to  be  done,  in  order  to  cherish 
this  notion  and  make  the  whole  appear  admira- 
bly consistent  and  uniform.  The  following  mode 
of  reasoning  was  necessarily  the  one  pursued 
with  such  minds:  — 

'Disciples  were  baptized  by  command  of  Je- 
sus, then  added  to  the  church,  and  came  to  the 
table  of  the  Lord.  Here  is  the  order  observed 
—  none  in  the  church  but  baptized  believers  — 
the  Lord's  Supper  a  church  ordinance:  there- 
fore exclusive  communion  is  scriptural.'  These 
limited  views  were  then  brought  to  the  New 
Testament,  not  to  be  tested  by  all  its  bearings, 
or  to  see  the  truthfulness  of  the  reasoning  as 
well  as  the  legitimate  character  of  the  conclu- 
sions, but  to  make  the  word  confirm  what  was 
the  undoubted  belief  previously  entertained. 

It  is  easy  to  see  how  by  such  a  process  the 
mind  might  become  confirmed  in  prepossessed 
opinions,  and  the  word  of  God  be  made  the  in- 


BAPTIST   DENOMINATION.  281 

strument  of  fixing  the  mind  in  opinions  contrary 
to  its  spirit,  and  directly  erroneous.  If  we  want 
the  mind  and  will  of  God  to  be  manifest  to  us 
at  any  expense,  we  must  forsake  denominational 
bulwarks,  be  regardless  of  name  or  party,  lay 
aside  prepossessed  notions,  and  inquire  at  the 
oracle  of  the  New  Testament  in  a  teachable 
spirit.  If  Messrs.  Gill,  Booth,  and  others,  had 
done  this  when  becoming  the  advocates  for  re- 
stricted communion,  they  never  would  have  so 
deceived  themselves  as  to  have  untremblingly 
affirmed  that  close  communion  was  the  law  of 
God's  house ;  that  it  was  the  command  of  Christ, 
and  a  violation  of  the  will  of  Christ  not  to  ob- 
serve it ;  with  many  other  such  bold  assertions. 
If  we  ask  for  the  letter  of  the  enactment  to  see 
that  it  is  law,  or  anything  approaching  to  it, 
they  are  dumb,  or  equivocating,  or  forsake  their 
point  for  inference  or  example.  It  is  a  mere 
display  of  words,  but  becomes  highly  sinful  to 
declare  that  it  is  "  thus  saith  the  Lord,"  when 
he  has  never  spoken  nor  implied  it.  We  can 
unhesitatingly  declare  that,  when  they  say,  *  It 
is  the  law  of  Christ,'  that  it  is  not,  and  that  there 
is  no  more  a  positive  law  to  favor  restricted  com- 
munion than  there  is  positive  law  for  the  wor- 


282  ECCLESIASTICAL    OBSERVANCES. 

ship  of  the  host,  or  for  clerical  exclusiveness, 
which  the  papists  observe. 

But  why  are  American  churches  bound  in 
such  a  spell?  Surely  the  passing  away  of  two 
or  three  generations  ought  to  have  wrought  de- 
liverance in  the  minds  of  a  people  glorying  in 
freedom,  and  who  profess  to  think  and  act  for 
themselves.  Though  their  forefathers  were  twice 
bound  to  the  religious  narrowness  they  contract- 
ed under  the  mighty  load  they  sustained  in  Eu- 
rope, and  though  their  immediate  successors 
may  have  imbibed  the  same  spirit  from  them, 
surely  the  days  ought  now  to  have  arrived  for 
emancipation.  Seeing  that  about  eight  genera- 
tions have  passed,  surely  such  prejudices,  such 
narrow  conceptions  and  unwarrantable  dogmas, 
should  have  waxed  old,  and  vanished  away. 

SECTION  VII. BAPTISTS    OF    THE    UNITED    STATES 

UNDER   A   YOKE. 

So  it  is,  that  where  civilization,  learning,  and 
commercial  enterprise,  nourish  —  where  freedom 
is  esteemed  the  dignity  of  the  man,  and  where 
felicity  arises  from  "  the  lines  having  fallen  in 
pleasant  places"  —  there  the  baptist  is  in  many 


BAPTIST   DENOMINATION.  283 

respects  the  veriest  slave  to  religious  opinions, 
which  he  must  sustain  though  he  may  hate. 
He  is  not  legally  bound,  but  he  is  ecclesiasti- 
cally bound. 

Is  prejudice  for  ever  to  be  in  the  gates  of  the 
citadel?  is  the  mind  to  be  pent  up  by  it  in  un- 
enlightened bigotry?  Are  the  fetters  never  to 
be  made  to  yield,  but  to  be  regarded  as  the  or- 
naments of  religion  ?  Is  there  ever  to  be  that 
ecclesiastical  asthmatical  difficulty  in  breathing, 
though  the  soul  longs  for  expansion?  Is  the 
dreadful  ban  of  clerical  and  church  discipline, 
and  the  fearful  sword  of  excommunication,  to 
haunt  the  soul,  as  in  night-visions,  when  the 
thought  would  seem  to  demand  the  considera- 
tion, 'Is  restricted  communion  according  to  the 
will  of  God  and  of  Christ,  whose  I  am  and  whom 
I  serve?  is  it  in  accordance  with  the  spirit  of 
his  liberal  and  lovely  dispensation  V 

We  can  suppose  that,  in  the  minds  of  the 
timid  inquirers  about  the  will  of  Jesus  in  this 
matter,  a  sort  of  soliloquy:  '  I  love  them  that 
love  Thee,  but  wherein  do  I  manifest  it  if  I  am 
as  a  disjointed  member  from  the  bod)7,  or  vio- 
lently sever  others  from  me,  at  that  table  where 
all  the  followers  of  Christ  are  invited  to  come 


284: 


ECCLESIASTICAL    OBSERVANCES. 


free  from  any  condition  but  that  of  faith  in  him, 
where  all  are  cemented  into  one  body,  and  where 
by  spiritual  communion  with  Christ  all  the  j  oints 
of  every  denominational  feature  are  brought  vis- 
ibly into  one  body,  "fitly  joined  together,  and 
compacted  by  that  which  every  joint  supplieth, 
according  to  the  effectual  working  in  the  meas- 
ure of  every  part,  mak.th  increase  of  the  body, 
unto  the  edifying  of  itself  in  love."  Surely  I 
am  a  miserable  partisan  in  my  restricted  views. 
I  would  fain  cherish  the  thought  to  receive  all 
whom  Christ  receives,  but  such  thought  must 
be  nipped  in  the  bud  ! 

'  I  wonder  if  it  can  be  that  there  will  be  two, 
or  five,  or  fifty  companies  in  heaven  of  differ- 
ent denominations?  Will  baptists  in  the  world 
to  come  exclude  from  their  worshipping  assem- 
bly the  unbaptized,  for  multitudes  go  to  heaven 
that  have  never  submitted  to  the  ordinance  as 
we  regard  it — therefore  they  must  be  for  ever 
as  the  unbaptized?  if  not  fit  for  the  fellowship 
of  the  church  on  earth,  how  can  they  be  for  that 
in  heaven  ?  But  the  word  of  God  assures  us 
that  there  is  but  one  communion  of  saints  in 
heaven,  so  that  they  can  not  be  separated  there. 
Is  it  right,  then,  to  divide  ourselves  in  this  world 


BAPTIST   DENOMINATION.  285 

from  those  to  whom  we  shall  be  eternally  uni- 
ted hereafter?  Is  it  for  the  baptist  denomina- 
tion that  Christ  prayed  "  that  they  all  may  be 
one ;  as  thou,  Father,  art  in  me,  and  I  in  thee, 
that  they  also  may  be  one  in  us  :  that  the  world 
may  believe  that  thou  hast  sent  me"?  No  — 
surely  that  prayer  regards  all  disciples.  "Well, 
I  am  grieved  in  soul  that  I  must  not,  as  a  bap- 
tist, be  one  at  the  Lord's  table  with  an  immense- 
ly large  majority  of  those  who  are  my  brethren 
and  sisters  in  Christ ;  sorry  I  am  that  my  pure 
desires  for  union  with  all  that  love  Jesus  must 
be  coerced  to  party  manifestations,  and  make 
schism  in  the  body  of  Christ.  But,  my  thoughts, 
you  must  be  suppressed;  you  make  me  unhap- 
py. To  cherish  you  may  lead  me  to  inquiry  of 
others  in  this  matter ;  and  then  I  may  have,  un- 
der the  rigorous  sentence  of  excommunication, 
to  wander  an  outcast  upon  the  face  of  the  earth  !' 
A  considerable  number  of  baptists,  under  the 
oppression  of  restrictive  communion,  so  reflect 
and  so  converse  in  their  own  thoughts.  They 
detest  from  their  very  souls  the  restraint  laid 
upon  the  best  and  purest  desires  of  their  heaven- 
born  minds ;  they  groan  under  the  yoke,  from 
which  they  can  not  see  a  way  of  deliverance 


286  ECCLESIASTICAL   OBSERVANCES. 

without  being  the  objects  of  such  discipline  as 
may  deprive  them  of  a  religious  character  in 
society  ;  they  have  been  so  overawed,  that  moral 
courage  has  forsaken  them,  and  they  are  slaves 
in  mind  to  a  system  as  unlike  the  pure  spirit  of 
the  Christian  dispensation  in  that  particular  as 
hell  is  unlike  heaven. 

Ye,  who  love  pure  freedom  in  all  things,  and 
abominate  the  system  of  restricted  communion, 
come  forth,  and  show  yourselves  to  be  true  men ; 
cast  off  the  }7oke,  and  leave  it  for  those  who  love 
and  cherish  it,  to  enjoy  it,  if  they  can,  but  do  you 
enjoy  that  liberty  which  Christ  has  given  you. 

American  baptists,  your  fraternity  are  free 
but  in  that  one  thing  which  gives  liberty  to  free- 
dom—  the  right  of  judgment  in  matters  of  reli- 
gion. You  are  great  but  in  that  one  thing  which 
gi  ves  nobleness  to  greatness.  At  least  one  fourth 
of  your  members  have  thoughts  of  noble  birth, 
but  they  dare  not  speak  them ;  they  have  wills 
to  be  liberal  and  free,  but  are  spell-bound  by 
warning  and  threats  ;  they  have  consciences  to 
justify  what  is  G-odlike,  but  are  restrained  from 
obeying  their  dictates. 

Look  at  all  other  denominations  —  they  are 
comparatively  happy  and  free ;  they  have  no 


BAPTIST   DENOMINATION.         -  287 


fears  that,  for  communing  with  other  Christian 
companies  at  the  table  of  the  Lord,  they  shall 
suffer  the  judgment  of  excision  from  their  par- 
ticular society  ;  they  do  not  tremble  and  groan 
under  heavy  taskmasters.  There  is  a  mystery 
in  it  —  who  can  unravel  it?  You  groan,  being 
burdened,  and  hitherto  you  have  made  no  effort 
to  be  free.  The  system  under  which  you  are 
bound  is  only  a  vile  deformity  under  the  name 
of  Christian. 

Thus  far  behind  all  other  religious  bodies,  you 
have  yet  to  look  for  the  morning  dawn  of  your 
freedom,  when  you  shall,  in  spite  of  threats  and 
judgments,  cherish  reciprocal  fellowship  with 
all  disciples  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  But  the 
dawn  of  that  morning  is  appearing.  The  agita- 
tion in  the  minds  of  the  whole  body  is  great ; 
means  have  been  resorted  to  for  suppressing  it, 
and  those  who  should  cherish  it  are  the  first  to 
take  measures  to  destroy  it.  Denominational 
distinction,  however  degrading  it  may  be  to  ev- 
ery faculty  of  the  mind,  however  untenable  by 
revelation,  is  to  some  as  their  skin  to  their  flesh. 

It  is  useless  for  ministers  to  talk  about  put- 
ting the  padlock  upon  the  lips  of  their  constitu- 
ency, to  prevent  their  inquiry  into  the  truthful- 


288  ECCLESIASTICAL   OBSERVANCES. 

ness  of  restricted  communion.  Some  of  them 
have  lately  suggested  this  discipline,  but  the 
time  is  gone  by  for  gagging ;  and  a  searching, 
prayerful  inquiry  must  follow,  when  the  thin 
covering  will  be  removed,  and  men  will  be  as- 
tounded that  they  could  so  long  have  yielded 
to  such  a  flimsy  defence  for  restricted  commun- 
ion. Baptist  churches  in  the  United  States  are 
destined  soon  to  go  in  advance  of  their  brethren 
of  liberal  sentiment  in  England  and  on  the  con- 
tinent of  Europe.  They  must  be  free  —  and 
doubtless  some  individuals  are  living  now  who 
will  have  to  say  that  they  recollect  the  time 
when  baptist  churches  were  bound  by  restricted 
principles  of  communion. 

SECTION   VIII. SUMMARY   REMARKS. 

We  have  seen  that  the  origin  of  baptist  de- 
nominational churches  and  restricted  commun- 
ion is  comparatively  of  recent  date,  yet  but  few 
baptists  know  this.  Many,  very  many,  have 
verily  thought  that  the  baptist  denomination 
was  a  succession  from  the  apostolic  churches 
down  to  this  day,  and  that  they  retained  the 
sign  manual  of  the  apostles  of  our  Lord  Jesus 


BAPTIST    DENOMINATION.  289 

Christ  for  all  that  they  observed.  They  have 
not  been  able  to  think  otherwise  than  that  none 
but  truant  baptists  could  venture  to  commune 
with  Christians  of  another  denomination  with- 
out chastisement ;  and  if  repentance  did  not  fol- 
low, with  confession  never  to  be  truant  again, 
they  must  be  unceremoniously  dismissed  from 
fellowship  as  contumacious. 

But  such  baptists  have  not  been  informed,  nor 
have  they  examined  ecclesiastical  history  them- 
selves to  ascertain  the  fact  that,  for  the  first  fif- 
teen hundred  years  of  the  Christian  dispensation, 
baptism  was  no  ground  for  separating  Christians 
at  the  table  of  the  Lord. 

The  master-mind  of  the  late  Dr.  Carson,  which 
would  never  suffer  him  to  mince  matters,  led 
him  to  avow  that  restricted  communion  was  con- 
trary to  all  scripture  principle.  He  thus  writes 
upon  the  subject,  from  the  church  at  Tubber- 
more  to  the  church  of  Christ  in  New  York :  "If 
that  brotherly  intercourse,  and  earnest  care  for 
eacli  other,  that  subsisted  among  the  churches 
in  the  days  of  the  apostles,  is  not  to  be  found 
among  those  who  profess  to  follow  their  prac- 
tice, as  far  as  it  was  approved  by  Jesus,  the 
causes  ought  to  be  sought  out  and  removed. 

13 


290  ECCLESIASTICAL   OBSERVANCES. 

In  our  opinion,  the  chief  of  those  causes  is  not 
the  difference  of  sentiment,  great  and  greatly  to 
be  deplored  as  this  is,  but  is  owing  to  the  exer- 
cise of  an  authority  never  conferred  on  the 
churches  by  the  Lord  Jesus :  to  refuse  or  ex- 
clude, for  difference  of  sentiment,  any  of  those 
who  give  evidence  that  they  have  been  bought 
by  the  blood  of  Christ.  .  .  .  Notwithstanding  all 
that  we  have  heard  in  favor  of  this  plan,  we  still 
deem  it  the  wisdom  of  man.  Accordingly,  we 
have  found  that  God  has  made  foolish  this  wis- 
dom. Long  has  it  been  tried  without  success; 
and  of  late,  in  some  parts  of  Ireland,  it  has  been 
carried  so  far,  that  some  individuals  can  scarce- 
ly find  a  second  to  unite  with  them  in  constant 
fellowship.  By  permitting  Satan  to  work  them 
up  to  this  frenzy,  it  appears  to  ns  that  God  has 
affixed  his  seal  of  disapprobation  on  the  senti- 
ment in  its  lowest  degree,  and  to  lead  sober- 
minded  Christians  who  have  been  led  away  by 
its  plausibility  to  examine  more  attentively  the 
ground  of  their  opinion. 

"We  entreat  you  to  examine  this  subject  — 
recollecting  that,  if  it  he  sinful  to  receive  any 
that  Christ  has  forbidden,  it  is  also  sinful  to 
refuse  any  that  he  has  invited.     There  is  no 


BAPTIST    DENOMINATION.  291 

6afe  side  in  error !  That  Jesus  will  not  approve 
of  refusing  fellowship  to  any  of  his  brethren, 
known  to  be  such,  appears  to  us  to  have  the  irre- 
sistible light  of  self-evident  truth." 

But  let  us  ask  you,  brethren,  who  are  of  close- 
communion  societies,  is  it  now  that  you  will 
hear  the  signal  to  be  free?  is  it  now  with  you 
as  with  one  of  the  ancient  tribes,  when  the  Lord 
was  about  to  set  his  people  free?  —  it  is  said, 
"For  the  divisions  of  Reuben  there  were  great 
searchings  of  heart"  (Judges  5  :  15).  Surely  the 
agitation  in  the  whole  denomination,  and  the 
serious  convictions  of  so  many  in  most  of  the 
churches  that  the  present  system  is  unscriptu- 
ral,  must  be  intimation  from  Heaven  that  it  is 
to  be  tested  and  rejected. 

It  behooves  you,  in  the  maintenance  of  your 
own  individual  responsibility  before  God,  in  all 
religious  matters  to  look  the  subject  fairly  in 
all  its  bearings,  and  see  how  the  principles  can 
possibly  bear  the  test  of  rigid,  faithful  scrutiny. 
Try  your  principles  fairly  by  the  word  of  God, 
and  the  result  is  certain  that  you  will  cast  them 
from  you,  hating  the  sophistry  by  which  you 
had  been  induced  to  suffer  such  arguments  to 
prevail  over  your  better  judgments. 


292  ECCLESIASTICAL    OBSERVANCES. 

But  in  concluding  this  part,  as  we  take  a  can- 
did survey  of  the  path  through  which  we  have 
passed,  and  the  position  at  which  we  have  ar- 
rived, let  us  reflect  for  a  moment.  We  see  bap- 
tists in  the  sixteenth  century  at  first  huddled  to- 
gether in  a  denominational  form,  partly  by  eccle- 
siastical pressure  around.  If  we  throw  aside  the 
Miinster  insurgents  and  immoral  fanatics,  with 
their  associates,  we  may  perhaps  in  charity  look 
back  upon  the  others  on  the  continent  of  Europe 
and  in  Great  Britain  as  sincere  in  heart,  and 
cherish  loving  feelings  to  their  memory.  The 
remembrance  of  their  trials  will  lead  to  the  in- 
dulgence of  strong  sympathies  of  regard.  Their 
close  communion  was  more  an  accident  of  the 
times  in  which  they  lived  than  Christian  prefer- 
ence to  exclusiveness. 

In  looking  at  the  onward  course  of  restricted 
communion,  if  there  were  nothing  scripturally 
justifiable  in  its  rise  (as  most  assuredly  there  was 
not),  what  was  there  in  the  whole  review  of  its 
aspect  in  past  generations  to  court  our  sympa- 
thies or  to  sanction  its  indulgence?  Alas!  it 
is  fraught  with  evils  dangerous  in  the  last  de- 
gree ;  and  while  reflecting  on  them  we  may  well 
pray,  from  all  such,  "  Good  Lord  deliver  us  !" 


PART   VII. 

FEATURES  OF  RESTRICTED  AND 
FREE   COMMUNION. 


SECT.   I. THE  BASIS  UPON  WHICH  CLOSE  AND  OPEN 

COMMUNION    RESTS  WITH   BAPTISTS. 

Restricted  and  free  communion  are  terms  of 
distinction  among  baptists,  very  frequently  not 
understood  by  baptists  themselves ;  and  there- 
fore require  that  we  should  make  some  brief 
allusion  to  them  in  a  general  manner,  and  then 
proceed  to  examine  each  under  its  operative 
influence. 

We  have  done,  for  the  present,  with  exempli- 
fying the  position  of  restrictive-communion  bap- 
tists—  proving  it  to  be  one  of  cherishing  a  tenet 
without  any  foundation  in  the  word  of  God.  It 
has  been  demonstrated  to  be  perfectly  antago- 
nistical  to  every  feature  of  the  New  Testament, 


294:  ECCLESIASTICAL   OBSERVANCES. 

and  calculated  only  to  foster  strife,  contention, 
pride,  and  division;  this  its  history  lamentably 
displays,  and  it  is  equally  manifest  in  every  sys- 
tem where  men  usurp  authority,  and  take  upon 
themselves  at  their  own  suggestion  the  right  to 
rule  conscience,  coerce  to  uniformity,  and  tram- 
ple under  foot  for  non-compliance. 

Systems  of  men's  devising  have  done  fearful 
hurt  to  the  church  of  Christ.  Many  have  in 
the  Lord's  kingdom,  according  to  his  parable, 
taken  their  fellow-servants  and  beaten  them, 
disregarding  altogether  the  will  of  the  Lord  him- 
self.  Had  the  restricted  communion  baptists 
the  opportunity  to  display  the  principle  by  which 
their  system  is  governed,  they  would  show  them- 
selves to  be  the  most  intolerant  of  all  religious 
sects. 

The  reason  why  so  little  is  known  of  the  dis- 
tinctive features  between  these  two  branches  of 
the  denomination  is,  from  the  conduct  of  those 
who  cherish  close  communion  toward  any  who 
differ  from  them.  Instead  of  investigating  the 
subject,  it  has  been  the  uniform  practice  to  pro- 
scribe and  cry  down,  if  possible,  all  who  have 
advocated  a  liberal  and  Christian  conduct  in 
reference  to  the  Lord's  table.     Never  did  De- 


RESTRICTED   AND   FREE   COMMUNION.         295 

metritis  more  violently  set  to  work  to  suppress 
the  doctrine  of  Christianity  propagated  by  the 
apostles  than  have  close-communion  baptists  to 
prevent  unrestricted-communion  principles  from 
being  received  or  understood. 

Perhaps  a  very  large  majority  of  the  baptist 
constituency  have  yet  to  understand  what  those 
advocate  who  are  esteemed  almost  as  heretics 
when  they  avow  their  adhesion  to  open  com- 
munion. It  is  a  common  thing  to  hear  them 
charged  with  being  in  error  upon  a  most  essen- 
tial doctrine  of  the  Christian  faith.  Of  course, 
they  who  make  the  charge  have  imbibed  the 
impression  from  teachers  who  have  uttered  their 
serious  dread  of  such  notions,  and  have  even 
given  the  worst  of  names  to  those  who  have 
espoused  more  Christlike  feelings  toward  the 
church  of  Christ  than  they  have  entertained. 

Now,  in  the  very  face  of  things,  such  a  line 
of  proceeding  evidently  implies  to  every  mind 
of  sound  reason  that  there  must  be  something 
fundamentally  wrong  in  a  system  where  its  ad- 
vocates have  recourse  to  such  stratagems  to 
frighten  people,  that  they  may  fall  back,  the 
dupes  and  prey  of  designing  partisans.  It  is 
because  of  these  unmanly  proceedings,  that  it 


296  ECCLESIASTICAL   OBSERVANCES. 

is  necessary  to  make  plain  and  set  forth  in  the 
most  simple  manner  the  ground  of  difference 
existing  in  these  two  systems. 

It  is  known  to  all  baptists  that  restricted  com- 
munion means  the  refusing  to  go  to  the  table 
of  the  Lord  with  any  believer,  godly  as  he  may 
be,  who  is  not  a  member  of  a  baptist  church  of 
the  same  faith  and  order.  It  is  a  principle  wThich 
gives  no  such  privilege  to  any  child  of  God,  un- 
less he  has  observed  the  ordinance  of  believers' 
baptism  by  immersion  ;  and  though  a  member 
of  a  church  in  another  denomination,  it  consid- 
ers him  unworthy  of  a  place  at  the  same  table 
with  a  baptist.  It  used  to  be  declared  that  no 
denomination  except  the  baptist  had  a  right  to 
commemorate  the  Lord^  death  by  breaking 
bread  —  that  is,  eating  his  supper ;  but  this  was 
seen  to  assume  so  much,  that  every  enlightened 
mind  was  soon  disposed  to  reject  it,  but  the 
principle  embraces  the  sentiment  still.  There 
is  manifest  inconsistency  in  saying  what  they 
do  now  —  that  is,  that  those  who  are  esteemed 
by  the  baptists  unbaptized  ucwe  fulJ/y justified 
in  observing  the  ordinance  of  the  Lord's  Sup- 
per among  themselves"  while  they  declare  their 
unfitness  to  do  so  in  their  assembly.     If  eligible 


RESTICTED   AND   FREE   COMMUNION.  297 

to  the  observance  of  the  religious  rite  at  all,  they 
must  be  so  everywhere,  and  in  every  Christian 
societ}\ 

Another  feature  of  restricted  communion  is, 
the  authority  which  it  claims  over  the  liberty 
of  its  adherents.  No  member  is  allowed,  under 
any  circumstance,  to  commune  with  any  other 
church  but  such  as  is  of  the  same  faith  and  or- 
der. To  do  so  is  to  be  open  to  the  censure  of 
the  church,  when  a  confession  of  the  act  as  a 
grievous  offence  before  God  must  be  made,  and 
a  promise  not  to  be  similarly  guilty  again  is  ex- 
torted, or  probably  excommunication  may  be 
the  penalty. 

But  that  which  is  shut  up  in  mystery  is  the 
true  principle  of  open  communion  :  some  have 
said  one  thing  and  some  another,  and  the  most 
part  have  thought  dreadful  things,  yet  really 
known  nothing.  It  is  enough  for  many  to  hear 
that  an  individual  is  an  open-communion  bap- 
tist, and  they  at  once  conceive  him* to  be  some 
frightful  monster !  It  has  been  not  a  little  amu- 
sing sometimes  to  observe  with  what  caution 
and  alarm  the  question  has  been  put,  "  What  is 
open  communion  fn  and  this,  too,  by  some  min- 
isters, who  are  in  the  habit  of  warning  the  peo- 

13* 


298  ECCLESIASTICAL   OBSERVANCES. 


pie  against  the  error,  as  they  call  it :  so  little  do 
they  know  what  is  embraced  in  the  term  "  open 
communion." 

The  first  tiling  in  disabusing  the  mind  is,  to 
affirm  that  it  has  no  affinity  to  a  doctrinal  error, 
even  were  it  an  error  at  all.  There  may  be 
some  difficulty  in  convincing  the  mind  of  this, 
so  strongly  has  the  idea  been  cherished  ;  but 
when  you  come  to  explain  the  nature  of  a  doc- 
trinal error  —  show  that  open  communion,  in  its 
most  aggravated  aspect,  if  unscriptural,  could 
only  be  regarded  as  a  misconception  of  the  use 
or  bearing  of  a  symbolical  ordinance  upon  Chris- 
tian conduct  and  practice  —  and  that,  if  any 
error  is  committed,  it  is  only  in  extending  the 
privilege  of  the  celebration  of  an  ordinance  to 
Christians  beyond  the  boundary,  that  restricted 
baptists  judge  to  be  consistent  —  tin's  proved, 
the  prejudice  and  dread  are  somewhat  abated, 
and  there  is  a  calmer  hearing  given  to  what 
further  needs  explanation. 

The  next  thing  is  —  admitting,  for  argument's 
sake,  that  it  is  an  error  to  extend  the  privileges 
of  observing  a  Christian  ordinance  to  pedobap- 
tists  —  to  show  that  it  is  not  done  to  any  who 
are  wilfully  neglecting  the  command  of  Christ 


RESTRICTED   AND    FREE   COMMUNION.  299 

to  be  baptized,  but  upon  the  strong  conviction 
in  their  minds  that  they  have,  in  a  manner  fully- 
answering  the  ends  of  Christ's  command,  been 
baptized.  They  differ  with  us  baptists  upon  the 
ground  that  our  view  of  administering  the  ordi- 
nance is  not  of  necessity  —  that  is,  not  the  only 
one  to  render  it  valid  and  duly  observed.  They 
are  not,  then,  treating  any  command  of  Christ 
with  open  and  wilful  contempt.  This  is  suffi- 
cient to  prove  that  there  is  not  that  dreadful 
enormity  in  fellowship  with  them  as  had  been 
imagined. 

First,  then,  open  communion  i's  not  a  doctri- 
nal error ;  and  next,  it  is  no  error  in  practice 
so  far  as  countenancing  a  wilful  violation  of 
any  Christian  duty.  From  this  position  we  can, 
in  our  turn,  assume  the  character  of  examiners 
—  as  it  materially  softens  down  prejudice,  ex- 
plains in  some  measure  the  true  position,  and 
shows  the  injustice  done  by  restricted  commun- 
ionists  to  their  brethren  who  depart  from  their 
circumscribed  notions  of  communion. 

The  first  question  is,  '  Which  of  two  evils  is 
the  greater — an  error  concerning  the  grand 
truths  of  revelation  necessary  to  be  received 
and  believed  to  the  salvation  of  the  soul,  or  an 


300  ECCLESIASTICAL   OBSERVANCES. 


error  respecting  certain  observances  in  religious 
practices,  no  way  immoral,  but  bearing  upon 
extended  liberality  in  an  ordinance  of  worship  V 
Every  right-thinking  mind  does  not  want  a  mo- 
ment to  decide  upon  this  question :  the  answer 
is  prompt  that  the  first  error  so  outweighs  the 
second,  that  in  comparison  the  latter  is  no  error 
at  all  by  the  side  of  the  former. 

We  then  ask  how  it  is  that  restricted-com- 
munion baptists  can  foster  every  shade  of  doc- 
trinal error,  and  have  no  conscientious  scruples 
against  such,  but  commune  with  men  holding 
them  because  baptized,  and  yet  direct  all  their 
artillery  against  those  who  are  more  Christian 
and  liberal  than  themselves?  How  is  it  that 
thjey  are  so  on  the  alert  to  put  a  veto  upon  even 
the  slightest  whisper  of  open  communion,  yet 
never  lift  up  their  voice  against  fundamental 
doctrinal  error,  but  suffer  to  pass  unnoticed  all 
kinds  of  error  on  the  grave  points  which  affect 
salvation,  and  receive  and  countenance  in  fra- 
ternal bonds  those  who  boldly  affirm  them  ? 

It  is  too  manifest  that  there  is  no  love  of 
Christ  or  his  gospel  in  this,  but  a  determination 
to  cherish  partisanship,  denominational  dogmas, 
and  subscriptions  to  uniformity  in  comparative 


RESTRICTED    AND    FREE    COMMUNION.  301 

non-essentials,  at  all  hazards.  Alas !  how  like 
are  these  to  the  scribes  and  Pharisees  addressed 
thns  by  our  Lord  in  his  day :  "  Wo  unto  yon, 
scribes  and  Pharisees,  hypocrites!  for  ye  are 
like  unto  whited  sepulchres,  which  indeed  ap- 
pear beautiful  outwardly,  but  are  within  full  of 
dead  men's  bones,  and  of  all  uncleanness.  Even 
so  ye  also  outwardly  appear  righteous  unto  men, 
hut  within  are  full  of  hypocrisy  and  iniquity." 
But  further  we  spare  these  unaccountable  stick- 
lers for  their  uniformity  in  observing  an  ordi- 
nance, by  not  referring  to  the  many  righteous 
castigations  which  the  Saviour  in  his  word  gives 
them,  as  possessing  similar  features  of  character 
to  the  men  he  addressed  in  his  day. 

SECT.   II. THE   RELATION   OPEN   COMMUNION    BEARS 

TO   THE   SO-CALLED   BAPTIST    CHURCHES. 

It  is  very  extensively  believed  that  open  com- 
munion exposes  the  views  of  baptists  to  becom- 
ing eventually  suppressed  by  a  majority  of  pe- 
dobaptists  entering  the  societies  of  baptists  and 
voting  down  believers'  baptism  by  immersion, 
thus  establishing  infant  sprinkling  in  its  place. 

Here  it  is  evident  that  open  communion  and 


302  ECCLESIASTICAL   OBSERVANCES. 

open  societies,  whicli  are  two  distinct  tilings,  are 
confounded.  But  even  if  churches  were  open, 
we  have  no  such  fears  about  the  issue  respect- 
ing the  ordinance  of  baptism.  Truth,  sooner  or 
later,  will  be  sustained  ;  and  when  it  is  left  for 
its  own  defence,  it  will  rapidly  advance  to  its 
rightful  elevation  much  more  so  than  by  any 
attempts  on  the  part  of  man  to  shield  and  de- 
fend it  by  foreign  and  unscriptural  means; 
truth  requires  a  "fair field  and  no  favor."  Let 
baptists  take  oif  the  fetters  with  which  they  have 
bound  the  ordinance,  and  they  will  soon  find 
that  it  will  gain  ten  to  one  converts  more  than 
they  are  making  by  all  their  solicitude  and  guar- 
dianship. In  the  past  history  of  the  church, 
where  error  of  an3r  kind,  doctrinal  or  practical, 
has  made  headway,  and  truth  been  put  down, 
the  arm  of  human  and.  civil  power  has  been  in- 
voked, and  it  has  been  granted  to  the  full.  But 
enlightened  ages  now  and  in  the  future  will  re- 
volt at  the  idea  of  granting  such  aid;  therefore 
the  conflict  will  be  one  of  principle,  and  the  less 
truth  is  weakened  by  the  professed  protection 
of  human  strength  (rather  weakness),  the  sooner 
will  she  be  triumphant.  We  therefore  feel  as- 
sured that  open  churches  would  advance  bap- 


RESTRICTED   AND   FREE   COMMUNION.  303 

tists'  views  more  than  anything  else ;  but  we 
turn  to  the  question,  *  What  is  open  commun- 
ion?' as  the  point  more  directly  under  our  pres- 
ent discussion. 

Open  communion  does  not  imply  open  socie- 
ties :  they  are  distinct  things.  Open  commun- 
ion means  no  more  nor  less  than  this,  that  the 
societies  bearing  the  name  of  baptist  churches 
shall  be  exclusive  in  admitting  to  membership; 
that  none  shall  compose  such  societies  but  what 
have  been  baptized  by  immersion  upon  confes- 
sion of  faith  :  but  in  coming  to  the  table  of  the 
Lord  there  shall  be  no  restriction  of  the  kind, 
but  members  of  other  orthodox  Christian  socie- 
ties (that  is,  such  as  believe  in  the  person  and 
work  of  Christ  as  the  only  way  of  salvation) 
shall  be  welcome,  thus  acknowledging  that  full 
right  which  Jesus  has  given  to  all  who  believe 
in  his  name  to  break  bread  in  remembrance  of 
him. 

Close-communion  baptists  assume  a  lordship 
over  the  liberties  of  the  consciences  of  their  in- 
dividual members;  they  confine  their  brethren 
to  a  certain  limit  in  observing  the  command  of 
Christ  to  break  bread  in  remembrance  of  him. 
Under  no  circumstances  are  they  allowed  know- 


304  ECCLESIASTICAL    OBSERVANCES. 

ingly  to  go  to  the  table  of  the  Lord  with  a  pedo- 
baptist  nor  with  baptist  churches  practising  open 
communion.  The  law  of  close  communion  is 
definite,  though  much  partiality  is  displayed  in 
enforcing  it,  as  we  shall  presently  show,  and 
this  is  one  of  the  glaring  evils  of  the  system. 

It  demands  of  all  its  members  that  they  shall 
never  obey  the  command  of  Christ  in  eating  his 
supper,  unless  they  do  it  with  such  exclusive 
societies.  If  their  lot  be  cast  where  such  a  one 
is  not,  though  all  other  Christian  denominations 
may  be  found,  who  would  welcome  them  to 
participate  in  celebrating  the  Lord's  death,  they 
must  not  comply  —  no,  not  even  with  an  open- 
communion  baptist  church  ;  so  that  conscience 
is  bound  in  that  one  glorious  feature  of  Christ's 
dispensation,  love —  and,  what  is  worse,  bound 
to  be  disobedient  to  Christ's  command.  Such 
a  course  restricted  communionists  demand  of 
all  their  members. 

On  the  other  hand,  open-communion  baptists 
are  not  bound  in  any  such  way.  It  is  consid- 
ered that  when  absent  from  the  company  of 
those  Christians  in  whose  fraternal  bonds,  by 
association,  they  are  necessarily  more  closely 
linked  —  that,  wherever  they  may  be  placed  in 


RESTRICTED    AND    FREE    COMMUNION.  305 

the  Divine  providence  for  a  time  —  they  can 
fulfil  their  Lord's  command  to  meet  at  his  table 
with  any  society  of  Christians,  none  daring  to 
make  them  afraid.  They  view  the  table  as 
spread  for  the  members  of  Christ's  visible  body  ; 
and,  upon  making  known  that  they  are  of  that 
body,  they  feel  that  they  have  no  barrier,  but 
commune  there  for  the  time  being  with  their 
Saviour  in  his  death  and  sufferings  for  them. 
There  is  liberty,  in  the  true  sense  of  the  word, 
to  obey  Christ's  commands  according  to  the  dic- 
tates of  conscience,  exercising  love  as  the  Scrip- 
tures unfold,  with  all  that  love  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ,  and  serve  him  in  sincerity  and  truth. 

Close-communion  baptists  guard  the  table  of 
the  Lord,  by  giving  permission  to  none  other 
to  commune  with  them  but  those  members  in 
good  standing  with  churches  of  the  same  faith 
and  order.  It  is  therefore  regarded  as  exclu- 
sively an  ordinance  instituted  for  none  other 
than  believers  baptized  by  immersion,  and  such 
as  bind  themselves  to  be  exclusive  in  their  prac- 
tice. 

Open-communion  baptists  admit,  as  occasion- 
al communicants,  members  of  other  denomina- 
tions to  the  Lord's  table  ;  they  do  it,  recognising 


306  ECCLESIASTICAL   OBSERVANCES. 

the  entire  truth  of  the  principle  that  it  is  the 
lord's  table,  that  he  has  instituted  the  ordi- 
nance, and  that  for  all  the  visible  members  of 
his  body,  the  church. 

Here  it  may  be  said  that  we  have  so  far  stated 
the  features  which  give  the  distinctive  appella- 
tions to  restricted  and  open  communion  baptist 
societies.  Surely  it  is  not  the  intention  of  any 
candid  Christian,  though  he  practise  restricted 
communion,  to  justify  all  that  angry  feeling  and 
everlasting  commotion  which  is  displayed  in 
the  support  of  the  dogma  of  restricted  com- 
munion. 

We,  in  our  more  liberal  course,  would  follow 
on  in  a  quiet,  inoffensive  way,  like  the  smooth 
surface  of  a  running  stream,  to  be  lost  in  the 
ocean  at  last;  but  these  never-peaceful  parti- 
sans, fighting  with  every  one  who  will  not  sub- 
scribe to  all  they  ignorantly  force  upon  them, 
are  full  of  commotions,  backbitings,  swellings, 
and  tumults ;  in  their  own  fellowship  usurping 
over  each  other,  and,  like  so  many  little,  petty 
despots,  they  march  abroad  with  the  same  spirit 
of  bitter  dissension,  to  quarrel  with  more  peace- 
able 60ciety,and  so  perturb  the  harmony  of  all, 
as  far  as  in  them  lieth. 


RESTRICTED   AND   FREE   COMMUNION.  307 

Suppose  a  man  to  say,  for  conscience'  sake 
toward  God:  'I  am  a  baptist,  but  no  advocate 
for  restricted  communion.  I  give  to  others  the 
full  right  to  enjoy  their  opinions  'without  my 
interference,  and  so  I  expect  they  will  extend 
the  same  to  me1?  To  this  they  pay  no  heed  — 
the  badge  is  put  on  him :  like  so  many  mosqui- 
toes they  come  round  him  in  his  private  life  and 
public  walk  to  teaze  and  annoy  ;  they  have  him 
everlastingly  their  object  of  assault.  He  takes 
a  quiet,  inoffensive  course ;  but  no  matter  to 
them  —  they  will  not  let  him  rest;  they  cry 
him  down  as  an  evil,  they  warn  others  to  avoid 
him,  and  they  say  all  manner  of  evil  things 
against  him,  to  fortify  the  minds  of  the  people 
against  the  effects  of  the  salutary  truths  he  may 
utter,  just  as  was  practised  before  in  the  life  of 
the  Lord  Jesus  Christ. 

Open-communion  baptists  therefore  have  nev- 
er appeared  publicly  in  defence  of  their  strong 
position  till  the  time  has  passed  for  all  righteous 
forbearance  with  their  restless  and  quarrelsome 
neighbors  of  restricted  notions.  Then  they  have 
revealed  the  truth  of  their  sentiments,  and  have 
uniformly  battered  the  whole  system  of  their 
opponents ;  proved  it  undeniably  true  that  ij  is 


308  ECCLESIASTICAL   OBSERVANCES. 

of  man,  and  not  of  God  ;  and  labored  to  expose 
as  little  as  possible  (in  the  defence  of  truth)  the 
sophistry  of  their  antagonists. 

SECTION   in. THE  TOWERS   THE   TWO   INSTITUTIONS 

POSSESS   TO    SUSTAIN   THEIR   GOVERNMENTS. 

We  have  noticed  a  few  particulars  of  what 
these  two  societies  require  of  their  members. 
They  are  bound  to  different  observances  in  rela- 
tion to  all  other  Christians  upon  the  face  of  the 
earth.  Let  us  see  their  several  powers  for  fol- 
lowing up  these  requirements.  These  powers 
they  possess,  unless  the  regulations  or  require- 
ments are  the  invention  of  fanatics:  neither 
God  nor  reasonable  beings  ever  laid  down  reg- 
ulations which  were  impossible  to  follow. 

Let  it  be  borne  in  mind  that  we  are  not  here 
pursuing  a  course  of  investigation,  as  if  it  yet 
remained  to  be  proved  that  restricted  commun- 
ion was  not  of  G<»d  nor  Christ.  We  regard  this 
as  proved  to  demonstration  in  what  has  before 
been  considered  —  the  fallacy  of  the  system  ex- 
ploded—  and  the  principles  altogether  proved  to 
be  antiscriptural.  We  are  now  submitting  it  to 
ortier  tests,  to  show  its  falsity  in  various  lights. 


RESTRICTED    AND    FREE    COMMUNION.  309 


As  there  is  no  positive  law  given  by  Christ 
making  baptism  a  prerequisite  to  the  Lord's 
table,  restricted  communion  must  be  founded 
upon  the  supposition  of  the  infallibility  of  their 
judgments  who  practise  it,  and  the  requirement 
of  an  entire  submission  to  all  that  Christ  has 
commanded  to  be  observed.  They  act  upon  the 
first,  concluding  that  it  is  impossible  for  them 
to  err  respecting  what  Christ  requires,  when  it 
is  clear  that  he  has  not  given  them  law.  In  the 
second  also  they  are  perfectly  at  fault. 

Restricted  communion,  established  upon  the 
ground  that  there  must  he  entire  submission  to 
the  commands  of  Christ,  or  there  is  no  coming 
to  the  table  of  the  Lord,  assumes  a  position 
which,  if  correct,  no  one  individual  on  earth 
could  have  ever  had  a  right  to  have  approached 
the  Lord's  table  —  concerning  which,  he  said  at 
its  institution,  "  This  do,  as  oft  as  ye  do  it,  hi 
rememurdnce  of  me." 

Close  communion  has  been  by  men  invested 
witli  requisites  for  directing  communion  at  the 
Lord's  table  which  absolutely  overthrow  com- 
munion at  that  table  altogether.  It  is  therefore 
a  system  destructive  of  what  it  assumes  to  cher- 
ish.    Baptists  of  close-communion  sentiment  are 


310  ECCLESIASTICAL   OBSERVANCES. 

not  capable  of  carrying  out  the  object  of  their 
adhesion.  Mark  well  the  process  of  reasoning, 
and  the  most  forcible,  too,  as  the}r  consider,  to 
which  they  constantly  resort :  '  Baptism  is  a  com- 
mand of  Christ's,  binding  on  all  his  disciples: 
therefore,  baptism  is  a  prerequisite  to  the  Lord's 
Supper:  ergo,  the  whole  code  of  laws  which 
Christ  has  given  (saying,  concerning  them,  uIf 
ye  love  me,  keep  ray  commandments"  )  is  bind- 
ing on  all  his  disciples :  therefore,  all  these  com- 
mands observed  are  prerequisites  to  the  observ- 
ance of  the  Lord's  Supper.' 

This  position  will  evidently  take  them  by  sur- 
prise, and  we  can  suppose  them  exclaiming, 
1  No  !  no  /'  But  we  say,  '  What,  then,  is  not 
this  the  legitimate  ground  upon  which  you 
place  your  authority  for  excluding  from  the 
table  of  the  Lord  the  members  of  pedobaptist 
churches?'  and  they  give  the  ready  answer — 
'  No,  we  confine  it  to  the  obedience  to  the  re- 
quirement of  baptism.' 

Now  just  give  us  your  authority  to  relax  and 
to  bind  at  your  pleasure  the  commands  of  Christ. 
You  all  admit  that  Christ  has  given  no  command 
to  exclude  the  unbaptized ;  and  therefore,  if  it 
be  upon  the  principle  of  obedience  to  a  com- 


RESTRICTED    AND   FREE    COMMUNION.  311 

mand,  you  can  not,  as  we  have  shown  before, 
make  an  exception,  and  take  what  command 
you  please.  Who  can  tell  but  in  a  few  years 
you  may  make  the  washing  of  the  disciples'  feet 
the  prerequisite  ?  but  we  would  rather  suggest 
that  the  next  change  as  prerequsite  to  commun- 
ion should  be  the  binding  precept,  "  Owe  no 
man  anything,  but  to  love  one  another." 

It  is  evident,  then,  that  there  is  no  ability  to 
sustain  such  a  system  upon  any  truthful  basis. 
It  proposes,  under  the  failure  of  its  own  posi- 
tion, to  make  the  laws  of  Christ's  kingdom  sub- 
serve its  ends.  It  claims  authority  over  the 
Lord's  table  upon  the  broad  principle  that  obe- 
dience to  what  Christ  has  commanded  his  dis- 
ciples to  observe,  invests  with  power  to  shut 
from  that  table  those  who  fail  in  this  matter. 
This  position  can  admit  of  no  exception,  for  all 
the  commands  of  Christ  must  be  observed. 

From  tire  circumstance  of  professing  what  is 
not  enjoined  by  Christ,  as  a  prerequisite  to  fel- 
lowship in  "breaking  of  bread,"  they  have  ad- 
vanced a  principle  going  beyond  whatever  they 
conceived  it  to  embrace,  as  the  ground  of  com- 
munion, and  then  circumscribed  it  to  the  ob- 
servance of  a  particular  command,  arrogantly 


312  ECCLESIASTICAL   OBSERVANCES. 

making  themselves  the  authors  of  terms  of  com- 
munion. They  then  unblushingly  put  forth 
their  blunders  and  assumptions  as  the  institu- 
tions of  Heaven !  Robert  Hall  was  perfectly 
correct  when  he  said :  "  They  have  attempted 
an  incongruous  mixture  of  liberal  principle 
■with  a  particular  act  of  intolerance  /  and  these, 
like  the  iron  and  clay  in  the  feet  of  Nebuchad- 
nezzar'*s  image,  will  not  mix.  Hence  all  that 
want  of  coherence  and  system  in  their  mode  of 
reasoning,  which  might  be  expected  in  a  de- 
fence, not  of  a  theory  so  properly  as  of  a  capri- 
cious sally  of  prejudice." 

What  claims  can  the  principles  of  restricted 
communion  have  «j)on  our  consideration,  when 
we  see  that  they  embrace  more  than  we  can 
fulfil  ?  Much  as  we  would  desire  to  be  so  per- 
fect in  our  obedience  to  all  commands  of  Christ 
as  that  upon  the  broad  basis  of  the  principle  of 
restricted  communion  we  could  go  to  the  Lord's 
table  and  say,  "Lord,  we  have  done  all  that 
thou  hast  commanded  its" — yet  we  see  it  is  too 
high :  it  is  like  removing  that  table  from  us  to 
heaven,  while  it  was  intended  for  us  on  earth. 
Then,  on  the  other  hand,  how  destitute  are  they 
of  claims  upon  our  attention,  when  men  inter- 


RESTRICTED    AND    FREE    COMMUNION.  313 

pret  the  meaning  of  the  principle  laid  down  to 
the  observance  of  one  command,  sending  at  their 
discretion  all  others  adrift!  It  becomes  evi- 
dently the  terms  of  men  to  communion  at  the 
Lord's  table,  and  not  the  Master's  requirement 
at  all. 

The  principle  of  open  communion  is  free  from 
such  confusion  and  absurdity;  it  enforces  noth- 
ing but  what  the  soul  of  man  at  once  proves 
to  be  in  accordance  with  the  revelation  of  the 
New  Testament  and  sound  reason.  There  is  no 
violence  done  to  conscience,  no  arbitrary  law 
to  comply  with,  no  violation  of  Christ's  precepts, 
no  petty  usurpation  at  his  table,  no  schism  of 
the  one  true  church  in  the  act  of  commemora- 
ting the  dying  love  of  Christ ;  it  makes  all  wel- 
come to  the  Lord's  table  who  have  joined  them- 
selves to  his  visible  church,  and  have  not  erred 
from  the  faith  of  Christ,  and  yields  a  perfect 
liberty  to  join  in  any  of  their  assemblies  to  com- 
memorate the  Lord's  death. 

SECTION   IV. OPERATIONS    OF   THE   TWO    SYSTEMS. 

Close  and  open  communion  have  a  claim  to 
our  consideration  also  in  their  practical  influ- 
u 


314:  ECCLESIASTICAL    OBSERVANCES. 

ence.  The  more  pure  and  righteous  laws  are, 
which  are  for  the  government  of  a  people,  the 
more  confiding  are  all  the  legal  authorities  in 
the  peaceful  disposition  of  the  community.  This 
is  equally  manifest  under  professed  religious 
government.  To  be  arbitrary  is  to  be  always 
in  fear,  rendering  necessary  stringent  enact- 
ments and  perpetual  watchfulness  to  keep  in 
subjection. 

Apply  the  truth  of  this  to  the  body  of  close- 
communion  baptists.  Look  at  their  stringent 
regulations  —  their  attempts  to  silence  inquiry 
for  truth  —  their  threats  of  excommunication  for 
indulging  any  liberal  sentiment  toward  other 
Christians;  see  the  fear,  the  watchfulness,  the 
want  of  moral  courage,  pervading  the  whole 
body.  What  does  it  imply,  but  that  there  is 
something  from  beneath  interwoven  in  the  S3Ts- 
tem  ?  Its  very  aspect  gives  the  lie  to  its  being 
from  Heaven.  But  let  us  look  at  some  of  its 
developments. 

Close  communion  fosters  pride,  uncharitable 
feeling,  and  isolation.  What  can  be  more  con- 
trary to  what  the  gospel  inculcates  than  these? 
Of  course,  those  who  favor  it  must  conclude  that 

they  have  greater  knowledge  to  discover  more 

i 


RESTRICTED    AND    FREE    COMMUNION.  315 


perfectly  the  ways  of  God,  so  that  from  their 
elevation  they  can  look  down  and  say :  '  Your 
ignorance  and  inconsistency  is  a  bar  to  your  fel- 
lowship with  us;  you  are  not  fit  society  for  us 
when  we  go  to  the  taMe  of  the  Lord ;  stand  by, 
we  are  holier  than  you  !'  We  know  that  again 
and  again  they  deny  this;  but  what  of  words? 
■ — we  can  not  think  anything  of  what  they  say 
to  the  contrary,  while  their  conduct  has  a  con- 
firmatory voice  like  a  trumpet.  Though  doubt- 
less they  arc  self-deceived  about  the  principles 
Avorking  in  their  minds,  no  human  being  pos- 
sessed of  common  discernment  can  fail  to  mark 
that  the  system  of  restricted  communion  is  one 
of  pride,  uncharitable  feeling,  and  isolation. 
The  lovers  of  the  system  may  be  blind  to  its 
tendency,  but  they  alone  are  the  exception — 
all  the  rest  of  the  world  besides  see  it. 

It  is  a  fearfully-persecuting  system.  Other 
religious  bodies  have  in  times  past  urged  uni- 
formity with  dreadful  penalties  attached  to  non- 
compliance, and  the  restricted  baptist  church 
possesses  the  principles  of  their  terror.  It  ex- 
tends its  power  as  far  as  it  is  permitted  to  hurt 
the  saints  for  non-compliance  to  uniformity  in 
the  matter  of  baptism.     But  we  have  to  thank 


316  ECCLESIASTICAL    OBSERVANCES. 

God  that  lie  lias  marked  out  a  path  less  danger- 
ous than  that  which  was  assigned  to  the  myste- 
ry of  iniquity,  and  the  man  of  sin,  for  his  fear- 
ful developments,  and  has  kept  the  baptist  de- 
nomination low  in  a  low  place  in  political  des- 
potic governments,  or  evidently  there  would 
have  been  no  mercy  shown  to  dissentients. 

It  is  unrighteous  to  the  members  admitted  to 
fellowship.  It  has  no  mercy  upon  parental,  fil- 
ial, or  conjugal  relationships,  if  they  are  in  the 
way  of  its  dogmas.  Its  tendency  is  to  draw  off 
from  every  social  relation  in  life  —  to  narrow 
down  the  best  and  loveliest  feelings,  to  a  little 
party  of  bigots.  For  instance,  the  parents  may 
be  righteous  and  God-fearing  people,  honorable 
members  of  a  Christian  church,  who  have  walked 
in  the  ways  of  God  blameless,  so  far  as  man  can 
see.  Their  child  may  become  religious ;  he  is 
drawn  by  some  means  into  the  society  of  bap- 
tists, and  sees  the  ordinance  of  believers'  bap- 
tism to  be  scriptural.  So  far  all  may  be  correct, 
and  he  be  commended  for  conscientiously  yield- 
ing to  believers'  baptism;  but  he  is  haunted 
with  baptism,  to  the  exclusion  of  everything 
else,  and  is  prevailed  on  to  join  a  close-commun- 
ion baptist  society,  and  from  that  moment  the 


RESTRICTED   AND   FREE   COMMUNION.         317 

principles  he  must  adopt  make  him  a  schismatic. 
His  godly  parents,  who  were  earnest  in  praying 
for  his  conversion  to  God,  are  not  to  be  fellow- 
shipped  with  him  at  the  Lord's  table,  and  he 
must  treat  them  as  unworthy  of  a  name  and  a 
place  among  the  saints. 

Husbands  and  wives  are  divided  by  this  un- 
holy system.  If  both  be  converted  to  God,  and 
members  of  churches,  they  can  not  approach 
the  Lord's  table  together ;  in  the  religious  train- 
ing of  their  children  they  are  divided,  and  the 
results  have  often  been  painful  in  the  extreme. 
Infidelity  is  more  likely  to  take  hold  of  a  child's 
mind  than  religious  feeling  from  these  exhibi- 
tions of  partisan  dogmas.  It  is  the  same  with 
sincere  friends,  &c. ;  but  not  to  enlarge,  we  pass 
to  another  feature. 

It  is  a  system  which  unchurches  a  very  large 
proportion  of  the  denomination.  It  is  here,  as 
a  system  of  religious  observance,  singularly  sui- 
cidal. It  proceeds  upon  the  ground  that  none 
but  believers  baptized  by  immersion  have  a 
right  to  the  Lord's  table,  at  least  in  the  churches 
of  the  baptist  denomination.  It  makes  baptism 
the  prerequisite  to  the  Lord's  table  and  nothing 
else ;  and  yet  it  shuts  out  thousands  of  devoted 


318  ECCLESIASTICAL   OBSERVANCES. 

baptists,  though  acknowledged  to  be  exemplary 
Christians,  for  it  rejects  every  open-communion 
baptist.  Consequently  it  is  a  system  established 
by  falsehood,  carried  forward  by  oppression  and 
arbitrary  rule,  and  is  antagonistical  to  almost 
every  principle  of  the  human  soul  that  becomes 
Godlike  in  regeneration. 

Happily,  the  system  of  unrestricted  commun- 
ion needs  none  of  these  dreadful  features  in  its 
workings.  Believers'  baptism  is  regarded  as 
the  ordinance  of  Heaven,  and  is  duly  observed. 
Christian  societies  are  formed  upon  the  princi- 
ple that  the  members  of  them  ought  to  be  bap- 
tized believers ;  but,  upon  coming  to  the  table 
of  the  Lord,  these  societies  are  not  regarded  as 
exclusively  the  church.  In  the  ordinances  of 
religious  worship,  the  Lord's  Supper  included, 
no  man  and  no  society  is  known  to  the  exclu- 
sion of  the  one  visible  church.  There  the  mem- 
bers of  any  body  bearing  the  name  of  a  church, 
holding  Christ  the  head  by  faith,  have  liberty  to 
draw  near  and  worship  God.  This  system  is 
harmonious  in  all  its  parts,  and  needs  nothing 
but  respect  to  God's  word  in  its  operation. 


RESTRICTED   AND   FREE   COMMUNION.         319 


SECTION  V. THE   SPIRIT   DISPLAYED  IN   MATNTATN- 

INO   CLOSE   AND   OPEN   COMMUNION. 

The  development  of  feelings  required  in  main- 
taining these  two  systems  is  entitled  to  serious 
consideration. 

It  can  not  be  supposed  for  a  moment  that  any- 
thing which  shall  do  violence  to  the  purest  feel- 
ings of  Christianity  can  be  according  to  the 
mind  and  will  of  Jesus  concerning  our  conduct, 
or,  on  the  other  hand,  that  Christian  love  and 
liberality  can  be  exhibited  if  truth  is  sacrificed. 
These  are  points  worthy  our  most  serious  reflec- 
tion, and  would  lay  before  us  a  very  wide  field 
of  discussion ;  but  one  or  two  remarks  shall 
suffice. 

Sound  philosophy  must  be  based  upon  truth. 
For  this  reason  we  are  taught  to  decide  that,  in 
instances  where  we  may  be  led  to  consider  that 
the  precepts  and  principles  of  Christianity  to 
be  observed  by  the  Christian  appear  antago- 
nistical  to  the  purest  sentiments  of  humanity, 
moral  refinement,  and  the  spirit  of  Jesus,  we  are 
erroneously  informed  about  those  precepts  and 
the  required  character  of  a  Christian  life.     Hav- 


320  ECCLESIASTICAL    OBSERVANCES. 

ing  received  impressions  conflicting  with  the 
Christlike  feelings  of  our  new-born  souls,  we 
conclude  that  the y  are  not  correct ;  and,  upon 
prayerful  examination,  sooner  or  later  we  have 
been  brought  to  see  that  there  must  be  harmo- 
ny between  the  religion  of  Jesus  and  the  best 
and  purest  principles  of  the  soul. 

Apply  the  above  to  the  matter  of  close  com- 
munion, not  forgetting  that,  though  there  are 
many  points  of  religion  and  Christian  duty  far 
above  reason,  yet  there  is  nothing  contrary  to 
reason  ;  proceeding  thus,  we  shall  of  necessity 
arrive  at  the  conclusion  that  there  must  be  some- 
thing erroneous  in  the  principles  of  close  com- 
munion, for  they  are  antagonistical  to  the  Spirit 
of  Christ,  to  the  spirit  of  his  dispensation,  and 
to  the  spirit  of  the  renewed  character,  which 
must  in  its  measure  bear  affinities  to  Christ's. 

Reason  and  every  faculty  of  the  soul  of  the 
Christian,  when  in  a  healthful  and  spiritual  state, 
enjoying  the  love  of  God  in  Christ  Jesus,  pleads 
against  close  communion,  and  must  with  every 
man  who  is  sincere.  The  restricted  baptists  tell 
us  continually  that  it  is  not  of  choice  that  they 
practise  close  communion ;  it  is  by  compulsion 
and  of  necessity,  to  so  obey  Christ.    If  this  were 


RESTRICTED   AND   FREE   COMMUNION.         321 

a  struggle  against  some  of  the  evil  propensities 
of  the  wickedness  of  the  heart,  and  corruptions 
of  the  natural  mind,  Reason  would  coincide  with 
the  statement,  and  say,  '  It  must  be  so.'  But  as 
it  is  declared  to  be  against  the  Christian  feeling 
of  the  heart,  and  sincere  love  to  those  who  in 
many  instances  are  eminently  endowed  with  the 
graces  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  concerning  whom 
there  is  not  a  question  for  one  moment  but  that 
they  are  the  children  of  God  by  faith  in  Christ, 
Reason  says,  '  There  is  something  wrong  in  the 
judgment  about  this  matter.' 

The  investigation,  followed  up,  will  prove  that 
the  Lord  does  not  require  it.  It  unchristianizes 
the  Christian ;  it  presents  things  in  the  aspect 
of  a  kingdom  divided  against  itself,  and  it  di- 
vides into  ten  thousand  particles  that  which 
Christ  declares  to  be  eternally  cemented  by 
love. 

Could  it  be  possible  that  Christ  could  require 
of  his  followers,  in  their  strict  compliance  with 
one  of  the  things  he  has  enjoined,  that  they 
should  make  it  a  sine  qua  non  with  all  Chris- 
tians, so  that  all  the  other  commands  of  his  lips, 
and  every  principle  of  his  gospel,  which  incul- 
cates love  and  fellowship  among  the  universal 


322  ECCLESIASTICAL   OBSERVANCES. 

church,  as  of  one  household  living  together  in 
fraternal  bonds,  should  be  violated  ?  Impossi- 
ble. The  Lord  of  heaven  does  not  so  confound 
the  laws  of  his  kingdom  ;  such  conduct  is  at  va- 
riance with  every  element  of  his  own  constitu- 
tion and  nature,  and  the  mere  caricature  of  obe- 
dience. 

The  love  of  party  has  led  the  majority  of 
close-communion  baptists  to  foster  the  error  in 
their  minds,  and — with  officious  interference, 
they  undertake  authority  which  Christ  never 
invested  his  servants  with.  To  do  even  what 
they  might  think  to  be  the  will  of  the  Lord, 
when  he  does  not  require  it,  is  sin ;  and  herein 
their  conduct  has  a  corresponding  feature  with 
that  of  the  disciples  in  their  erring  zeal,  when 
they  saw  one  casting  out  devils  in  the  name  of 
Jesus,  and  they  forbade  him  because  he  followed 
not  with  them  ;  and  James  and  John,  when  they 
saw  that  their  Master  was  not  received  by  oth- 
ers with  the  feelings  which  they  themselves  en- 
tertained toward  him,  inquired  of  Jesus,  "  Shall 
we  command  fire  to  come  down  from  heaven 
and  consume  them,  even  as  Elijah  did?"  —  and 
like  Peter,  who  "stretched  out  his  hand,  and 
drew  his  sword,  and  struck  a  servant  of  the 


RESTRICTED   AND   FREE   COMMUNION.         323 

high-priest,  and  smote  off  his  ear."  These  sev- 
erally Jesus  reproved.  They  knew  not  what 
manner  of  spirit  they  were  of.  All  persecution, 
even  in  its  mildest  form,  is  an  argument  against 
the  truthfulness  of  the  position  assumed.  Truth 
is  not  to  be  defended  or  sustained  by  such  meas- 
ures. 

The  circumstances  which  gave  existence  to 
close  communion  with  baptists  were  evidently 
from  the  peculiarity  of  the  times  when  it  was 
adopted :  that  which  gave  confirmation  to  it  was 
habit;  that  which .  gave  continuance  to  it  was 
prejudice  in  favor  of  established  practice,  be- 
lieving that  what  had  been  observed  was  accord- 
ing to  godliness  ;  and  that  which  gave  it  the  as- 
pect of  being  according  to  the  mind  of  God  and 
the  command  of  Christ,  was  the  determination 
to  bring  preconceived  notions  to  the  word  of 
God,  thus  endeavoring  to  make  the  Scriptures 
defend  denominational  distinctions. 

The  spirit  necessary  to  defend  the  principles, 
therefore,  can  not  be  of  God,  inasmuch  as  it  is 
adverse  to  that  so  fully  displayed  by  Jesus — 
so  contrary  to  every  feature  of  the  whole  scheme 
of  salvation,  and  so  suicidal  to  those  prominent 
features  of  character  which  the  precepts  of  the 


324  ECCLESIASTICAL   OBSERVANCES. 

New  Testament  everywhere  demand  us  to  ex- 
hibit as  disciples  of  the  loving,  meek,  and  lowly 
Jesus. 

In  the  practice  of  open  communion,  no  vio- 
lence is  done  to  the  best  feelings  of  humanity. 
There  is  no  compromise  of  principle ;  no  con- 
flicting between  the  feelings  which  the  Holy 
Spirit  has  engendered  in  the  new-born  soul,  or 
the  precepts  of  Jesus  in  the  Scriptures.  It  is 
not  with  a  sorrowful  heart  that  dear  friends  in 
Christ  must  part  communion  when  going  to 
commemorate  the  dying  love  of  the  Saviour  for 
them.  It  is  not  such  a  system  as  requires  that 
husbands  and  wives,  parents  and  children,  and 
friends  whose  hearts,  from  Christian  intercourse 
and  experience,  had  become  knit  together  like 
Jonathan's  to  David,  should  break  asunder  when 
melted  by  the  love  of  Christ,  before  the  memo- 
rials of  his  death  for  them. 

ISTo,  thanks  be  to  God,  communion  with  all 
that  love  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  of  whatsoever 
denomination  they  may  be  among  Christians, 
does  no  injustice  to  his  moral  perfections,  vio- 
lates no  precept  of  Christianity,  is  no  conflict- 
ing principle  with  the  Spirit  of  Christ,  nor  cru- 
cifies the  pious  feelings  of  the  Christian's  heart ; 


'RESTRICTED   AND   FREE   COMMUNION.         325 

but  in  every  point  of  consideration  it  bears  the 
impress  of  the  approbation  of  our  one  common 
Father  in  Christ,  of  our  great  Saviour's  will  and 
design,  and  of  the  Holy  Spirit's  sealing  with  his 
heavenly  sanction,  by  giving,  as  we  have  often 
felt,  unutterable  pleasure  and  sacredness  in  such 
obedience. 

SECTION   VI. THE    DESTINED   INFLUENCE   OF   CLOSE 

AND    OPEN    COMMUNION. 

The  truthfulness  of  the  position  of  either  re- 
stricted or  open  communion  will  have  much  to 
do  with  their  future  influence  ;  and  as  assuredly 
as  the}'  are  fairly  examined  by  the  word  of  God, 
so  surely  will  close  communion  wane,  and  un- 
restricted communion  shine  forth  in  its  glory. 
The  opposition  which  may  arise  from  long-cher- 
ished notions  may  retard  in  some  degree  a  rapid 
onward  course  at  the  first ;  but  as  partisans  fall 
off,  those  who  take  their  places  will  think  for 
themselves,  and  the  voice  of  Truth  and  Consis- 
tency must  be  heard. 

In  the  rising  generation,  education  is  doing 
something  more  for  the  people ;  and  were  it  for 
no  other  reason  than  that  close  communion  crip- 


326  ECCLESIASTICAL   OBSERVANCES. 

pies  freedom  of  thought,  and  narrows  social  in- 
tercourse, it  will  undergo  a  calm  and  close  exam- 
ination, and  when  once  submitted  to  this,  noth- 
ing will  be  required  on  the  part  of  those  who 
have  descried  the  baseless  character  of  the  su- 
perstructure, but  to  shake  it  with  truthful  argu- 
ment, that  the  people  may  see  its  weakness. 
But,  independently  of  such  advocacy,  soon  they 
wilL  see  the  unauthorized  assumption  of  the 
defenders  of  close  communion,  and  reject  the 
fallacy. 

In  looking  around  upon  the  restricted-baptist 
community,  it  is  fair  to  ask  whether,  in  main- 
taining its  numerical  strength,  the  means  used 
to  do  so  are  legitimate  Christian  means.  The 
truthful  answer  must  be,  '  They  are  not?  Arti- 
ficial means  are  used,  and  the  peculiar  senti- 
ments of  close  communion  presented  under  false 
lights ;  converts  are  made  to  the  profession  of 
Christianity  and  close-communion  views,  where 
in  the  large  majority  of  cases  there  is  neither 
religion  for  the  one,  nor  enlightenment  to  dis- 
cern the  truth  of  the  other.  It  is  in  this  way 
the  system  is  now  maintained.  With  the  more 
enlightened,  the  influence  of  association  and 
habit,  without  looking  particularly  at  the  just- 


RESTRICTED    AND   FREE   COMMUNION.  327 

ness  of  the  principle,  has  directed  them ;  but 
few  have  honestly  investigated  the  matter  but 
what  have  seen  that  there  is  no  truth  for  the 
pretensions  set  up. 

"Where  a  liberal  education  has  been  given  to 
baptist  families,  we  have  a  right  to  look,  to  see 
the  way  in  which  they  regard  the  matter.  "We 
have  taken  a  survey  of  this  aspect  in  relation  to- 
the  system,  and  it  is  one  which  demands  the 
very  serious  attention  of  all.  While  we  see 
the  additions  to  close  churches  mostly  made  by 
strangers  brought  in  from  the  world,  and  mostly 
uneducated,  we  see  the  respectable  families  of 
old  standards  of  the  denomination  on  every  hand 
forsaking  the  congregations  where  early  habits 
would  have  seemed  to  have  held  them,  to  give 
in  their  influence  and  strength  to  other  denomi- 
nations. The  reason  of  this  is  but  too  manifest : 
though  they  have  not  ventured  fully  to  examine 
the  foundation  of  their  parents'  creed  by  the 
word  of  God,  they  have  seen  that  there  is  some- 
thing defective,  and  that  the  narrow  system,  the 
coercive  measures,  the  exclusiveness  to  which 
it  compels,  can  not  be  right ;  they  try  to  think 
that  believers'  baptism  by  immersion,  having 
as  appendages  such  unlovely  principles,  is  some- 


328  ECCLESIASTICAL   OBSERVANCES. 

how  or  other  contrary  to  the  gospel,  and  they 
become  pedobaptists,  and  will  eventually  train 
their  children  in  the  same  way. 

It  may  be  seen  that  restricted-baptist  congre- 
gations every  year  become  less  influential.  The 
system  is  only  suited  for  enthralled  minds :  no- 
ble, charitable,  and  enlightened  souls,  can  not 
long  endure  it ;  and  as  it  comes  into  fair  contact 
with  open  communion,  it  will  decline  into  a 
shadow.  Upon  this  ground  we  have  no  doubt 
as  to  what  must  be  the  result  among  an  edu- 
cated and  free  people  where  the  true  principles 
of  the  two  systems  are  fairly  developed. 

The  history  of  the  English  baptists  is  a  point 
at  hand  fully  elucidating  these  remarks.  False 
notions  have  been  entertained  upon  this  matter 
by  American  baptists,  and  altogether  unfounded 
assertions  have  been  made  respecting  the  de- 
nomination in  England  by  some  who  have  writ- 
ten in  favor  of  restricted  practice.  We  hope 
they  did  it  in  ignorance  of  the  facts,  but  it  is 
certain  that  they  obtained  their  information  from 
untruthful  men,  be  they  who  they  may.  It  is 
therefore  generally  considered  that  the  baptist 
denomination  in  England  is  destroyed  by  the 
principle  of  open  communion,  and  that  baptists 


RESTRICTED   AND    FREE   COMMUNION.  329 

are  so  ashamed  of  their  ordinance  as  to  adopt 
secresy  and  scheme  every  way  to  practise  it: 
whereas,  nothing  could  be  more  false. 

As  in  England,  so  everywhere  else,  close  com- 
munion is  destined  to  work  itself  out,  because 
it  has  no  scriptural  foundation.  Some  time 
prior  to  the  days  of  Robert  Hall,  there  began  to 
be  more  liberality  displayed  by  the  English  gov- 
ernment toward  dissenters  generally,  and  in  pro- 
portion they  became  more  educated,  and  took 
their  stand  in  society ;  but  just  in  proportion 
did  the  baptist  denomination  wane,  till  at  last 
there  were  but  few  enlightened  men  to  join  the 
ranks  of  baptists ;  and  had  their  societies  con- 
tinued close  till  this  day,  the  denomination  now 
perhaps  would  have  been  in  its  expiring  throes. 
The  few  close  societies  now  remaining  are  in  a 
wretched  plight  indeed,  and  scarcely  an  edu- 
cated man  among  them. 

But,  in  the  providence  of  God,  Robert  Hall 
and  many  other  such  men  were  raised  up, 
who  examined  the  subject  of  close  communion, 
and  declared  it — as  Dr.  Carson  wrote  to  the 
church  in  New  York  —  "the  wisdo?n  of  men, 
and  God  made  foolish  this  wisdom"  Through, 
the  influence  of  these  eminent  scholars  and  di- 


330  ECCLESIASTICAL   OBSERVANCES. 

vines,  the  whole  system  was  reviewed,  and  close 
communion  began  to  vanish  away.  In  propor- 
tion as  churches  became  in  favor  of  open  com- 
munion, so  they  increased  with  men  of  godliness 
and  talent,  till  at  length  the  baptist  denomina- 
tion in  England  can  lift  up  its  head  in  the  gate 
of  learning,  piety,  influence,  and  wealth,  with 
all  other  denominations. 

The  state  of  the  baptist  denomination  as  open 
communion,  in  England,  is  most  flourishing; 
the  houses  of  worship  are  thronged ;  the  numer- 
ical strength  has  been  and  is  rapidly  on  the 
increase,  without  any  resort  to  excitement  or 
unscriptural  means  to  accomplish  it.  Nobles, 
members  of  parliament,  gentlemen,  and  wealthy 
merchants,  with  refined  citizens  spiritually  en- 
lightened, are  to  be  found  in  the  baptist  denom- 
ination ;  and,  under  God,  it  is  to  be  attributed  to 
the  way  in  which  Christ's  commands  are  honored 
and  his  ordinances  observed,  without  assuming 
authority,  or  lording  it  over  God's  heritage. 

Restricted  communion  must  die  out  sooner  or 
later,  throughout  the  civilized  world,  and  open 
communion  must  progress.  By  this,  multitudes 
like  the  drops  of  morning  dew  shall  be  won  to 
embrace  believers'  baptism  by  immersion,  where 


RESTRICTED   AND   FREE   COMMUNION.         331 

close  communion  and  coercion  can  do  no  other 
than  drive  from  its  borders. 

SECTION  VII. CLOSING   APPEAL. 

"We  have  now  to  draw  to  a  close  our  proposed 
review  of  "  Christian  Ordinances  and  Ecclesi- 
tical  Observances."  Throughout  this  review  it 
must  be  seen  that  the  subjects  demanded  a  more 
lengthened  discussion  ;  the  difficulty  has  been  to 
crowd  in  prominent  ideas  which  claimed  notice. 

We  presume  no  man  nor  set  of  men  can'scrip- 
turally  overthrow  the  position  we  have  taken, 
viz.,  that  "  restricted  communion  among  baptists 
is  antiscriptural."  If  any  think  they  can  fairly 
controvert  it  by  the  word  of  God,  let  them  make 
the  attempt :  certain  we  are  that,  before  they  can 
do  it,  they  must  falsify  the  New  Testament. 

Many  important  topics  we  have  been  com- 
pelled to  omit,  and  perhaps  some  which  may 
have  been  thought  more  powerful  in  sustaining 
our  position  than  those  advanced.  Be  this  as 
it  may,  we  are  so  far  satisfied  that,  like  the  walls 
of  Jericho  of  old,  our  ram's-horn  blasts  have,  so 
far  as  the  truth  of  the  sentiment  is  concerned, 
brought  down  the  towering  walls  of  restricted 


332  ECCLESIASTICAL   OBSERVANCES. 

communion  flat  to  the  ground.  God  grant  that 
multitudes  may  go  up  and  take  the  city  ! 

Baptist  ministers  !  we  call  to  you.  There  is 
a  glorious  mission  for  you  to  fulfil,  if  you  do  but 
regard  it,  lay  it  to  heart,  and  follow  it  with  holy 
zeal.  The  time  is  now  when  you  can  take  the 
lead,  and  bring  in  the  delightful  train  nearly 
the  whole  constituency  of  the  baptist  churches ; 
you  will  be  regarded  as  the  patrons  of  the  de- 
nomination— -loved  and  revered  by  a  people 
who  will  eventually  bless  you,  as,  under  God, 
being  their  leaders  from  error  and  bigotry. 

We  ask  of  you  to  re-examine  all  that  has  been 
written  in  defence  of  close  communion,  and  you 
will  find  that  every  one  who  has  gone  into  the 
conflict  has,  in  some  way  or  other,  smitten  down 
his  comrade  with  his  own  weapon  of  defence. 
The  grounds  upon  which  close  communion  is 
sought  to  be  established  are  as  variable  as  the 
winds :  first  it  is  this,  then  that,  then  something 
else.  Once  think  seriously  of  what  has  been 
put  forth  in  the  defence  of  your  position,  and 
you  will  feel  that  you  are  on  a  bed  of  quick- 
sands ;  and  if  you  do  not  escape  before  the  tide 
of  public  opinion  acts  upon  them,  you  will  go 
down,  and  your  notions  perish. 


RESTRICTED   AND   FREE   COMMUNION.         333 

You  must  not  think  that  an  enlightened  peo- 
ple, advancing  in  arts  and  sciences,  refinement, 
and  social  intercourse,  will  not  look  also  at  their 
religious  principles  and  weigh  them  as  the}7  will 
do  others ;  though  they  may  be  the  last  to  be 
taken  up,  they  will  certainly  have  their  day  for 
close  scrutiny,  and  that  day  has  begun.  Be,  there- 
fore, the  leaders  in  this  work ;  and  do  not  let  the 
opportunity  pass  you  while  you  are  dreaming  of 
peace  and  safety,  for  the  foundation  of  the  error 
is  shaking,  and  the  superstructure  must  soon  fall. 

The  baptist  denomination  is  destined  to  win 
and  not  coerce  to  the  opinions  which  are  scrip- 
tural, and  from  God.  By  taking  the  rightful 
position,  according  to  godliness,  to  bring  others 
to  the  unity,  not  only  of  faith,  but  of  practice, 
baptists  will  be  successful.  In  the  present  posi- 
tion, baptists  have  been  fighting  against  their 
own  interests ;  they  have  driven  and  scattered 
the  best  of  their  members  among  other  denomi- 
nations. The  educated  rising  generation  have 
in  many  instances  cast  aside  the  faith  and  prac- 
tice of  their  fathers,  and  neglected  the  societies 
in  which  they  were  early  trained  to  worship. 
But  when  the  close  barriers  shall  be  pulled 
down,  which  have  been  raised  by  men  of  super- 


334:  ECCLESIASTICAL   OBSERVANCES. 

stitious  feelings,  then  God  will  smile  upon  the 
baptist  denomination,  and  those  trained  to  wor- 
ship in  its  courts  will  love  to  continue  there. 

Baptist  Christians  of  the  laity  !  we  call  up- 
on you  to  reconsider  the  whole  ground  of  your 
restricted  principle.  We  have  the  greatest  con- 
fidence that  when,  with  moral  courage,  and 
prayerful  consideration,  you  shall  lay  down  pre- 
viously-conceived notions,  and  compare  them 
with  the  spirit  of  the  New  Testament,  you  will 
be  rightly  guided  into  truth.  We  can  suppose 
that  many  have  the  chains  of  superstition  so 
riveted  to  them,  that  they  will  be  only  indignant 
at  the  idea  that  we  should  suppose  that  their 
position  is  doubtful ;  but  be  it  so  —  we  can  ex- 
ercise Christian  forbearance,  and  pray  for  their 
release.  But  there  are  others  of  you,  who  have 
long  felt  that  something  must  be  radically  wrong 
in  the  system :  its  operation  has  betrayed  it  to 
your  minds,  and  you  are  ready  to  enter  upon  a 
Christian  and  candid  examination.  God  will 
bless  you  in  it. 

Particularly  do  we  look  to  you  who  are  now 
entering  upon  the  path  of  life  for  yourselves, 
and  who  are  seriously  inclined.  You,  for  the 
most  part,  have  the  advantage  in  the  investiga- 


RESTRICTED   AND   FREE   COMMUNION.         335 

tion  of  any  subject ;  you  are  prepared  to  discover 
where  error  may  be  wrapped  up  in  an  unsuspect- 
ed covering.  May  you  with  firm  grasp  and  zeal- 
ous resolution  bring  it  forth  and  denounce  it ! 

Young,  intelligent  Christians !  you,  with  the 
rising  generation,  are  our  hope,  under  Divine 
blessing,  to  free  the  baptists  from  the  long  train 
of  evils  consequent  on  unenlightened  prejudice. 
You  want  to  feel  that,  in  your  sincere  obedience 
to  the  Lord  Jesus,  you  may  fraternize  with  all  that 
love  him ;  you  want  to  know  that,  in  your  fami- 
ly associations,  your  baptist  views  are  not  neces- 
sary barriers  to  your  worshipping  with  those 
who  differ  with  you  in  those  particulars,  or  to 
their  communing  with  you  at  the  Lord's  table : 
you  have  never  seen  how  such  separation  from 
sincere  Christians  could  harmonize  with  the  prin- 
ciples of  the  New  Testament ;  but  you  have  been 
told  that  such  was  gospel  order ;  you  have  been 
told  that  to  infringe  upon  it  was  a  sin  which  the 
denomination  would  visit  with  the  severest  dis- 
cipline. We  tell  you,  with  the  word  of  God  in 
our  hands,  it  is  no  sin,  but  highly  commendable, 
and  that  it  is  in  the  spirit  of  and  in  accordance 
with  the  principles  of  Christ's  requirements. 

We  have  now  discharged,  in  faithfulness  and 


336  ECCLESIASTICAL   OBSERVANCES. 

affection,  a  duty  which  conscience  and  the  prov- 
idence of  God  laid  us  under  to  our  Christian 
brethren.  We  knew  it  could  not  be  undertaken 
but  at  the  penalty  of  the  displeasure  and  oppo- 
sition of  those  who  have  cherished  their  worldly 
systems  in  violation  of  almost  every  principle  of 
Christianity ;  but  this  was  secondary,  and  not 
worth  consideration  in  the  contemplation  of  the 
question,  'Shall  the  voice  of  Truth  he  heard P 
None  have  ever  stood  for  the  defence  of  the 
principles  of  the  New  Testament  but  what  have 
suffered  much  opposition  and  persecution  from 
zealots  who  have  been  foremost  in  professing  to 
adhere  to  what  is  right  and  according  to  godli- 
ness. To  those  who  oppose  themselves  to  what 
we  have  said,  the  address  of  Paul  to  the  erring 
Galatians  may  not  be  inapplicable  :  "  Am  I 
therefore  become  your  enemy  because  I  tell  you 
the  truth  ?"  We  now  throw  upon  the  baptists 
generally  who  advocate  close  communion  the 
responsibility  of  how  they  regard  this  matter. 
We  offer  many  prayers  for  them,  because  we 
are  assured  that  their  rejection  of  these  truthful 
positions  God  will  require  at  their  hands. 

THE    END. 


